I’m in the process of transforming the gym and my training into a routine, a habit.

When I didn’t have other things to consider, I could workout, run, and lift whenever I wanted. I could spend time cooking, plating, and taking pictures of my food. Trust me, I miss the luxury time I had to devote 150% of my time to myself.

But people who want something badly enough make time for it.

I remember that in November, when it started getting colder and turned the days grew shorter and night came at 6pm, that I increasingly found myself unmotivated to go to the gym after class. I convinced myself that I had nothing left to give at the end of the day.

I was dead tired. I was exhausted. I was done.

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.

Instead of going to the gym after class, I would go home, curl up in my bed, and watch TV. I would find reasons not to be productive because I convinced myself that an entire day devoted to class and studying was enough for me.

But it is not.

The thing is, the school gym is less than a 5-minute walk from my apartment. I even have to walk past it on my way home. There is no reason in the world preventing me from going except for myself.

I would tell myself that I would just go home, drop off my stuff, change and then go back to the gym. But the second I stepped inside my warm, cozy apartment and snuggled under the covers, I had admitted defeat. To myself.

And the more I stayed away from the gym, the less I cared about my body, the less I focused on my health, the less I valued healthy living. And the more I wanted to binge. The more I wanted to stuff my face. The more I wanted to just laze around and be inactive.

I finally realized, looking back at my blog posts, that as my focus turned away from myself and my health, the less I wanted to blog.

Maybe it’s because I felt like I had nothing relevant to say.

But more than likely, it’s because I felt embarrassed. That I was falling down into a deep trap. How could I be a health blogger when I wasn’t exemplifying the messages that I promote?!

But I’m slowly overcoming that.

Sometimes, you just have to admit that you failed. Not a permanent fail. But a temporary one.

You have to admit that you failed in order to move forward and move on.

My new plan of overcoming myself and my excuses is by bringing my gym bag to class.

The Little Bag That Could. (LBTC from here on out).

I throw my gym clothes, my Vibrams, my extra pair of shoes in case I want to lift (a complicated battle with the gym), and I bring my LBTC to class.

So what if it’s something extra that I have to carry. So what if it weighs an extra few pounds. So what if I have to lug it around in between all of my classes.

Having my LBTC around means that I can’t find excuses for myself. I am prepared. I am ready. I have everything that I need.

I can’t talk myself out of going, especially after an entire day of carrying around LBTC. And it’s so convenient to have all my stuff with me since I pass by the gym on the way home.

My Little Bag That Could made me realize that things that are worth trying for are usually never convenient. Exercising takes time out of your day. Cooking is definitely time- and energy-consuming. Trying to live healthily does not come easily.

It requires hard work. Dedication. Perseverance.

But the Little Bag That Could will keep going forward until she gets there.

Do you ever talk yourself out of doing something you should do?

And, how much does The Little Engine That Could rock?

 
Photo credit: Jamison Wieser