Kettlebell Day
I’m a creature of habit to the nth degree. For example, every single day of my life, I eat the same thing for breakfast. Every. Single. Day. For dinner, I shake things up a bit by eating one of three meals. So, it’s fair to say that I don’t like change. I find comfort in the familiar. Except when it comes to kettlebell day.
What’s kettlebell day, you ask? Well, not only do I eat the same things daily, I also do the same exercises. One day is elliptical day, and the other is kettlebell day. I hate kettlebell day. I’ve been doing it for about two years now and you can ask any of my coworkers…I STILL complain about it. “Ugh, it’s kettlebell day,” I tell my friend as we get on the elevator to leave for the day. Complaining helps nothing, yet I still feel the need to voice my disdain for this exercise. Some people have suggested I get a new kettlebell video (I can recite the one I have almost word-for-word), but I don’t want a new one; remember, I’m the girl who is happiest with things I’m familiar with. Plus, it’s not the actual act of doing the kettlebell exercises that I hate the most, it’s the anticipation of having to do them.
I don’t like to sweat, and I don’t like to be out of breath; kettlebell exercises make me sweat and get out of breath, so naturally, I dread kettlebell day. Here’s the thing: when I don’t exercise every day, I feel sluggish and lazy, and once I’m done with the kettlebell video, I’m always glad I did it. So, what’s the problem? Easy: procrastination.
I always tell my son he is the king of procrastinators. I lecture him and tell him that if he’d just start whatever he’s dreading, he’ll be done before he knows it and the rest of the day will be his to enjoy. Kettlebell day has revealed the absolute truth of the matter: the only reason my son is the king of procrastination is because he was heir to the throne that I once sat on, and admittedly, still sit on once in a while. Hey, at least I recognize and own it, right? And admitting you have a problem is the first step in fixing it, or so they say.
Kettlebell isn’t the only instance where I procrastinate. I tend to procrastinate with anything that might make me feel uncomfortable. It took me years to quit drinking because I knew that sober Amy would be terribly uncomfortable, but once I quit, eventually learning to be somewhat comfortable in my skin, I was happy. Tough conversations are another one for me (and probably a lot of you, too). Three narrators auditioned for the audio version of my book … emailing the two who weren’t chosen was excruciating for me. Although I sent the emails the same day that I notified the girl who’d been chosen, I had to make myself hit that send button.
I think procrastination is something we’re all guilty of, at least to some degree. There are things that we don’t enjoy doing, so I guess we put them off with the irrational hope that they’ll go away, or we’ll find an excuse to get out of doing them. Maybe my kettlebells will explode, and I won’t be able to use them. Maybe I’ll stub my toe (again) and will be in too much pain (again) to exercise. (Don’t laugh, y’all … it was a legit near-death experience.) The truth is, if those kettlebells explode and I can’t use them, I’ll end up feeling lethargic from sitting around all day doing nothing.
I don’t know why we procrastinate. They say that a fear of failure is a common reason, but for me, that’s not usually the case; instead, it is because I dislike being uncomfortable. I think when we know that something will be difficult and/or will require an excessive amount of energy and time, we don’t want to deal with it, so we put it off. I realize that once I start something I’ve been dreading, it won’t be so bad, and once I’m done with it, I’ll be relieved that it’s finished and no longer weighing on my mind. Unfortunately, just because I’m aware of why I procrastinate and I kind of know how to fix it, doesn’t change the fact that I still do it. Maybe one day, I’ll be procrastination-free, but not today.
Because today is kettlebell day.
If you’re procrastinating right now, here’s a Youtube clip with advice from Kris Kringle himself to get you motivated: