Being physically active has never been my forte.
For years I simply ignored it. After all, everything else including the universe of physics has always been far too fun to work on.
If not for the many older people I’ve met, who quietly told me they regretted not taking their physical health more seriously, I might never have picked it up again.
Health matters more than the credit I give it. I don’t like being sick. When it happens, I treat it as a signal that my body needs a reset. And when the body is ready, everything in life becomes more enjoyable.
Recently, I started jogging again to kick-start the process. The pace is slow, but that doesn’t matter. I am playing the long game. The goal is simply to keep doing it until the habit sticks, before shifting to the next gear.
The first five, ten, fifteen minutes are usually easy. Then the thoughts arrive.
Toward the end it often feels unbearable. That’s when I remind myself why I’m doing this: for my family, my friends, and my quest for a meaningful life.
Instead of focusing on the pain, I try to focus on the payoff.
That the sixty-, seventy-, eighty-year-old, and even older versions of myself will thank me. It’s a good deal, and it works every time.
This framing clicked for me near the end of last year, when I encountered the following YouTube Short asking a simple question:
“What if laziness is a habit of focusing too much on the cost, and too little on the payoff?”
I recommend watching it for the full effect: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zWe8eg65xp4
This framing is useful in many other parts of life.
Of course, be realistic and stay grounded. Sometimes it makes sense to take a break. You can always try again another time.
Give yourself exceptions when needed, but let the default be to frame things this way first.
Next time you are about to give up, remember the payoff waiting on the other side. Be kind to yourself, but keep going if you can.
Bit by bit, one day you will look back, and thank the version of yourself who decided to start today.
Do not give up so easily.