Woof!

It is nice to know that after so many years of (mostly inadvertent) self-deception, I'm finally doing something right.

What's all this about? My midriff is a touch sore today - and I now know that it's just my half-forgotten abs reminding me they exist, and that I actually started working them again the day before yesterday. What's more important is that I know this to be a good thing.

In days past I'd have felt a wee bit of discomfort like this and thought 'oh no, this isn't good - I hurt so I must rest or I'll damage myself' and truly have believed I was right to think this way. Finally, heading for the big five-oh, I am aware that this reaction was absolute cobblers!

The first hint that this might be so came while reading "The Man who Broke out of the Bank and Walked Across France" by Miles Moreland. At one point in the book Miles' wife Guislaine, another woman for whom 'exercise' was a dirty word, discovered that pain wasn't always a bad thing, while they were travelling the breadth of France from coast to coast on foot.

So yesterday, and again this morning, sore abs notwithstanding, it was back to those crunches. Yes, it was difficult (especially the motivation bit) and yes, that particular area of me has got tired easily on both days, but I now understand that if I keep at it, steadily and without going too mad at first, it gets easier and I can do more. I know it will help me trim that waistline too - no overnight miracles, but bit-by-bit, over time.

I've also finally realised (and this is a BIG step for me) that doing my morning exercises, even when it's hard to raise any enthusiasm to begin them, affects my state of mind - positively. It isn't something to avoid at all costs, but actually something which helps keep me a more balanced, grown-up, mostly positive and less stressed person. I really need to keep reminding myself of this.

Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?