My 'Feel Good' Resolution

January is coming to a close and by this time of the year most of our New Year's resolutions have been forgotten.  Personally, I didn't even set any resolutions for myself this year.  For me, they always feel like things I "should" do because I'm forcing myself into them, not because I want to do them.  

This year I made it a point to avoid resolutions and just ask myself this question every day: "what would feel good today?"  Some days I decide to be lazy or have a low-key day.  On those days I might stay in pajamas all day and spend most of my free time reading or watching TV.  

Other days, I decide that it would feel good to be productive.  This might mean getting some cleaning done around my apartment or possibly getting in some type of physical activity.  Today, for example, I ended up doing a Zumba workout in my living room using a new DVD I just bought.  Even though the workout only lasted for 25 minutes, it was still something, which is always better than nothing.

I've noticed that by taking the pressure off myself to workout for 'X number' of days a week, I'm actually enjoying exercise more.  I look forward to moving my body, even if it's just some simple squats and lunges or some easy stretching.

And even though I have free access to a brand new gym in my apartment clubhouse, I still usually end up working out at home.  The last time I went to the gym there were a ton of people there (probably working on those New Year's resolutions) and it felt overwhelming.  I walked in the door and felt like every head turned in my direction.  Looking back, I know that this was just my imagination simply because I felt self-conscious about being in the gym.  It had been weeks since I'd been there and I felt like I was walking into a foreign country where I didn't speak the language.

I even tried to do an internal pep talk about how I should be proud of myself for being at the gym, regardless of how out of shape I might be or how much of a newbie I might look like.  And I definitely reminded myself that it doesn't matter what other people think of me.  Still though, it was a very real moment where I felt unsure of myself and felt self-conscious about whether I "belonged".

Thankfully, I'm not alone and I'm sure there are many of you out there who have had the exact same experience.  To help, Aaptiv sent me a graphic that I'd like to share with you.  It gives some great advice on ways to overcome gym intimidation.  You can also check out their original article here.

Picture Credit: Aaptiv

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Let me know what you think in the comments and stay tuned for an upcoming blog post about my new favorite treat: detox baths.