I hate working out

I really do.

I gasp for air. My head pounds. My muscles catch fire. The world spins. I lay face first, outside on my exercise mat with no concern over the dirt, or what bugs might be crawling on me. It saps every last ounce of energy I have, and it's all I can do to keep from collapsing and spending the night in the parking lot.

But I also love working out.

Because at the end of the day, I come back just a little bit stronger, and the sense of accomplishment in knowing that I successfully did whatever I set out to do that day is like no other feeling.

No matter what the task, with accomplishment, comes satisfaction. Our brains like this feeling. Satisfaction is not quite the same as happiness, but rather, it is fulfillment in retrospect. You may not always be happy at your job, but it can still be fulfilling in a sense that you overcame a difficult task, and therefore, satisfying. We will always search for this feeling of satisfaction. So in exercising, while the during might not be so pleasant, the satisfaction in the aftermath can make it downright addictive.

Side note: It has come to my attention that in order to leave a comment on the blog, you need to create a blogspot account. It's a relatively quick and painless process, so please, don't let that keep you. Also, don't forget that can become a follower of this blog with any google, twitter, or yahoo account that you may already have (I think).

Thanks for all the comments you've given me thus far through other means. This blog is still in its infancy stage, and I think the best is yet to come.

The F-word

Knowing that we need to change our lives is not the hard part. That, in fact, is something we've probably known for a while. So the question is, what stops us? Why do we go after some things some of the time, but other times we do nothing?

What drives us is also what holds us back, and that is fear.

Fear of what, you ask? Well, let's see...fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success - you name it. It's pretty tough to commit to something when you don't know what you're getting yourself into, isn't it? What if you do everything you know to do, and you don't get the results you want? What if you do get some positive results? You can't possibly keep it up, can you? I mean eventually you'll just go back to your old habits and all that work will be for nothing, right? Does this sound familiar?

Let me ask you this. How long would you give your average baby to learn how to walk before you decided that maybe walking wasn't something that was in the cards? Silly question, isn't it? Babies will fall and fall until they get it right. So if we all started that way as babies, at what point in our lives did we suddenly become afraid to try things, let alone fail? What happened along the way?

Think for a minute what role fear plays in the everyday decisions we make in our lives. We go to work because we fear we'd get fired if we didn't. We study for exams because we're afraid of suffering through it without knowing the answers. We DVR shows because we're afraid we might miss something good. Fear is all around us. The key is to use the motivational power of fear to work for us, not against us. What if we kept living our lives the way we were now, without making the changes we knew were so important?

How scary would that be?

No time like the present

That goes for both of us.

I'm starting this blog today because I have reached a point in my life in which I want nothing more than to teach what I know and help people like you make changes and achieve your goals. With that said, I'm hoping you've stumbled across this blog because you've reached a point in your life in which you desire change. Something has got to give, but what exactly? Where do you begin?

I used to have those same questions. I can't begin to tell you how many times I stared into the bathroom mirror wondering what was wrong with me. Why couldn't I just get myself going? I was overweight and miserable. I hated my job. My dating life was a mess. Things were not looking good.

Fortunately, I was able to turn things around. With a new perspective on life, I was able to use techniques - many of which I developed on my own - to jump-start my life in the direction I wanted. I lost 50 pounds, went back to school, and all in all, turned my life around.

In the coming weeks and months, I will share with you many of these techniques that worked for me, as well as provide simple exercises, and quick and easy recipes you can do at home. My background is in sports, so for all you athletes out there, be on the lookout for ways to improve your mental game!

I'm still pursuing my master's in clinical psychology, so I don't quite yet have that piece of paper that would make me a "professional," but I'm a real person just like you who got real results, and in the end, results are what we're all after!

Welcome. I'm glad you're here. Physically and mentally, it's time to get healthy.