ShareThisDo you ever find yourself doing things that make no sense?
One recent morning I arrived at work directly from the gym, as I do most days. And I went to take the elevator to the third floor, just as I do most days.
Let me repeat that: I pay money to work out at a gym for an hour, and then I avoid walking up two flights of stairs.
There is nothing wrong with the stairs or with my legs. I do not tote anvils up to my desk.
I thought of this odd habit as I was reading St. Petersburg Times contributor Lavinia Rodriguez's column about how the things we say to ourselves can have a deep psychological impact, and stand in the way of what we want. The key, she explains, is to recognize these self-defeating statements (and, I might add, self-defeating habits) and stop them in their tracks.
It took that column for me to recognize a self-defeating conversation I recently had with myself.
I was out running in my neighborhood. Beautiful day, good music on the iPod, but was I enjoying all that? No, I was telling myself I need to lose 10 pounds.
Which is true, but why was I thinking about it right then? Why not when I'm contemplating a glass of wine and an order of fried calamari? It was tough, but I forced myself to stop obsessing. For the moment.
I know for a fact that I'm not the only intelligent person with self-defeating habits and thoughts. My friend Tera, who owns City Gym (where I work out before taking the elevator), and I often talk about people who won't join a gym until they get in shape.
Now, I have sympathy for people who fear being mocked. People can be cruel. But I haven't seen anyone get made fun of in a gym since middle school.
Whatever your shape, the fact that you're trying makes you a lot more inspiring than the hard body in the corner pumping out one-armed pushups.
There's a woman in my yoga class who has a lot of joint pain. When she can't keep up, she just takes a timeout.
Now, that's a role model to whom I can relate. Who am I to get lazy when she's soldiering on?
Here's another one: Have you ever said you're not buying new clothes until you lose weight?
Yeah, me, too, but let's reconsider for a moment.
There's a new movie called "The Runaways," starring Dakota Fanning as a tragic teenage rock star who wears bad '70s clothes and makeup but looks great (if a little seedy) anyway.
Fact is, you can dress out of a Dumpster when you have a Hollywood body. The rest of us? We need some help.
So let's really listen to those inner conversations. Join a gym if you like. Don't wait to get a nice outfit, especially if there's a good sale.
I'll work on running without running myself down.
And I'll take the stairs.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
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