Stick with me here for a little encouragement/ tough love in true Coach Rachelle fashion?
Our air conditioner broke last summer and we haven’t had it fixed yet so I feel I’m coming from a fair position. Of course, with the current heat we’re having, we want you to stay safe, stay hydrated, and listen to your body. But I’m not going to say, “stay cool.”
Why?
Because what’s wrong with getting a little hot and sweaty? It’s actually good for you! Did you know that? Dr. Anna Lembke, in her book “Dopamine Nation,” says that we all have a pleasure-pain seesaw in our brains. “Pressing on the pain side of the balance can lead to its opposite – pleasure.” According to Dr. Lembke, when you increase your temperature by exercising and sweating for several minutes, you feel pain and/or discomfort. This has the effect of “righting” the pain-pleasure balance and can lead to a gradual 100-200% rise in dopamine!
And let’s be honest…if it’s not the heat now, it will be the rain in 2 months. It will always be something.
-“Work is really busy right now.”
-“I don’t have time for myself.”
-“I’m not a morning person.”
-“The cat just got her vaccinations.”
There’s always an excuse.
You are a victim of what you continue to allow to defeat you, throw you off course, and sabotage your efforts. Of course, we cannot always control our circumstances but we can control how we respond and what actions we do or don’t take. And you’re a smart cookie! I know you know how to find a way to make things happen.
So if you’re here, reading this now, it’s because you want something. You’re looking for change. But how will you get what you want if there is always an excuse standing in your way? You have to want what you want more than what you want right now.
Did you catch that? Read it again….I’ll wait…
So that comfy couch that’s sucking you in right now? You have to want the fitness and mobility and strength that comes from exercise more than you want the comfort that couch offers.
That dessert you want right now? You have to want weight loss, or feeling better in your jeans, or better glucose management, or a healthier gut, less inflammation, clearer skin, better sleep, improved mental health, (I could go one) more than you want the momentary dopamine hit that cake offers.
What do you want? What do you need to remove from your schedule so that you can make room for the time and energy it will take to commit to your new healthy lifestyle? What in your daily routine could you move, adjust, or flex so that you can get what you say you want?
Make a plan. Commit to it. Tell someone about the changes you’re making. And GO DO IT!
yes. you. can.
~Rachelle
Rachelle Mathios 