As I workout (or don’t) I learn more about myself. For the last few months I have been working out with Chris Kluge in the mornings before work. Well, that’s to say I was before I had my wisdom teeth out a few weeks ago. Now I’m perfectly healed and having a really hard time getting back into the swing of things. You won’t hear any excuses coming from me, but needless to say I’ve found myself repeating some of the phrases in this questionaire either internally or to others. The fact of the matter is, I’m a drop out and I think most people are. Well now that I’ve recognized I hope I’ll be able to start again. Now that I’ve made the declaration publically I’ll try to keep myself accountable to the masses.

If you recognize yourself in the statements below, beware. You may need to make a special effort to stick to a program. Check off any statement that sounds like it could have come out of your mouth:

“This time, I’m really going to stick to it! I mean it, I’m totally, 100% committed!”
This person sounds like she’s trying to convince herself but not really succeeding.

“I’m potentially thinking that maybe I might join this class.”
This person hasn’t really made up his mind. He’s not committed. Although he sounds very different, he’s actually an awful lot like the person who says…

“I have to start TOMORROW. No delay!”
This person is afraid that she’s going to lose her resolve. It’s probably happened to her before.

“Well, afternoons don’t work. And I can’t do mornings. I can come Tuesdays at noon, but not this Tuesday. Or next Tuesday…”
The President of the United States works out almost every day! If people really want to exercise, they find the time.

“I’ll squeeze it in at lunchtime. I can just run out between meetings.”
This person hasn’t acknowledged to himself that exercise must be its own priority, and if he doesn’t do that, it’ll always get shoved to the bottom of the to-do list. Which means it won’t happen.

“I can’t wait to start. But first, I need to buy some new clothes. And some new shoes. And a mat. And I want to read up on it, too.”
My wife is like this. She loves shopping and everything involved in the preparation stage. But once she has all the stuff she needs for yoga or rollerblading or whatever, she loses interest.

If any of these statements remind you of yourself, use it as a warning sign to re-commit yourself to sticking to your exercise plan.