There was a time in my past when I would go to the local pool every morning before work. One day, in late December, I decided that on January 2, I was going to start going every day. And, miracle of miracles, I did.
I would swim laps sometimes but, mostly, I would do water aerobics by myself. I had taken some water aerobics classes, so I knew the moves. I would listen to my own music and just have fun.
I love being in the water, I love the feeling of weightlessness, and while I was in the pool, life was grand.
But, I hated getting up early, and I hated the walk from the parking lot to the building, and then the walk from the locker room to the pool itself. But, I did enjoy the pool time.
My goal was to go five days a week, and I was pretty consistent. If I missed a weekday, I would have to go on a weekend, which was more crowded and less fun. So, I got my butt out of bed almost every morning. For months!
And I wanted to reward myself. However, I refused to reward myself for something that I couldn’t control. I wasn’t going to reward myself for pounds lost because I couldn’t control it. I could control how many times a week I went and how long I spent in the pool.
So, I set up a reward system for myself. For every two weeks that I went to the pool five days a week, I got to have a manicure. For every two more weeks that I went to the pool five days a week, I got to have a manicure and a pedicure. So, theoretically, I could get a pedicure every 4 weeks.
This was an excellent reward for me. First, it wasn’t food-related. Second, I struggle with self-care, so I forced it on myself. And lastly, I loved looking at my beautifully polished red toenails when I was working out.
I haven’t thought about this in a while but, with my renewed commitment to my health, I’m trying to apply this today.
When I was going before, I worked onsite. Now I work from home, so it’s not practical for me to expect myself to get up, go swimming, and then come back home to work. I can pretend to make that commitment, but realistically, it’s not going to happen. And walking is hard for me, both on my knees and on my wrists if I put too much pressure on them when I use the walker.
But, being the positive person I am, I will focus on what I can do.
I can do seated aerobics.
I can do a modified version of Richard Simmons’ “Sweatin’ to the Oldies,” which I used to do and really enjoyed. (They’re available on YouTube, in case you were wondering. And those “oldies” are now ancient history. But, I digress.)
I can do gentle workouts with Justin Agustin*, who I love.
I can do arm exercises with weights.
So, I will make a commitment today to spend 15 minutes a day doing one of the above. And I will find a reward for doing it consistently (although, it won’t be mani-pedis).
How do you reward yourself for consistent activity?