Breaking the Cycle of Inertia

My aunt (I won't say which one in order to protect her identity, but you know who you are!) recently emailed me after reading this very blog. She said she'd been thinking about exercising too. For years. In fact, I'm guessing it's going on decades. If I'm wrong about that I'm certain I'll be getting a phone call and quickly editing or deleting this post.

What struck me is that we're really all a product of our environment. Unless we choose to change it that is. We tend to imidate the lives our parents show us. If they like fast food, we tend to too. If they eat a lot of veggies, I'm guessing it would work the same way. I don't come from a veggie fanatic family, so I'm taking a leap on that analogy, but you get the idea.

The same thing with exercise. Seeing your parents consistently exercising, because that's what you should do to stay healthy, would lead you to exercising consistently too. At least you'd be a lot more inclined to exercise consistently.

My mom has exercised on and off throughout the course of her life and she's become very consistent with it. You go, Mom! I think that's why it may be easier for me to want to be consistent and exercise. Good modeling of behavior.

I want to model that behavior for my kids. I want them to grow up loving exercise and wanting to work out. So, I'm realizing that it's up to me to model that behavior. It will be great when their dad models it too, but for now, it's just me. And that can be enough.

I'm breaking the cycle of inertia. You can too, anonymous aunt. All it takes is a leap of faith and a pair of sneakers. I believe in you!