My mood and motivation is constantly on a rollercoaster. If I walk every day, I am fine. If I stop for a day then I’m doomed, I stop and cannot start again and just get worst until I end up just watching tv all day in my pjs! I know that I should get dressed when I get up, eat breakfast and get out the door even if it’s just around the block but it’s like writer’s block, i can’t. Other times I’m mountain biking 10km and hiking 5km like nothing. I feel very guilty towards my dog the days I don’t get out. I end up going around the block at some point but she needs more.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to convince yourself to do one thing every single day to keep it constant, like get up and stretch. Maybe then you’ll get used to getting up everyday to stretch and soon you’ll want to get out!
What seems to be holding you back is perfectionist thinking. If you don’t exercise for a single day the whole thing is a bust. Recognizing that nobody is perfect, including you, can go a long way. In this post alone you mention several accomplishments (mountain biking 10km and hiking 5km). This is more than most people can say. Don’t compare yourself to others who may be doing more because perhaps your values simply just don’t align with theirs. Accept yourself. If exercise is a goal of yours, make it specific and reasonable. For example, that you will work out x times per week. This will give you something to strive for rather than trying to tackle some unknown goal.
Another tip is to rephrase your “shoulds” as “wants”. By saying you “should get dressed when I get up, eat breakfast, and get out the door” you are forcing yourself to live by some made up standard and feeling guilty when you don’t live up to it. If this is the standard you truly wish to live by then say you want to do these things. If you fail to do it on any particular day, don’t be yourself up. Aim to achieve this goal tomorrow instead.
Thanks for your feedback. What I meant by “I should get dressed” is if I am having trouble getting out the door in the morning that is one way I can help myself by getting dressed. For me to stay in my pj’s just once starts a viscous circle that is so hard to get out of, therein lies the ” should” .