Just Keep Doing the Work

When you start from the bottom – doing Pilates for the first time, running for the first time, or simply starting the early stages of exercise – it can be hard to see that the desired outcome is accessible to you.

If you show up in pain, it can be hard to see a time without pain. If the work is really hard, it can be difficult to see a time when it will seem easier or less strenuous. So often we are focused on how fast we can reach the end or how long it is going to take to get to where we want. This forward projection takes energy from our present.

Instead of being distracted by where you need to get or what isn’t good enough yet, focus on being where you are: commit to consistency. Commit to showing up and doing what you can in the present. When you stick to it, not every day will be a good day, but eventually the work that you do stacks up. The time you put in accumulates, the experience and skills you develop increase. And then one day, without even realizing, you re at the place that you didn’t know if you could reach.

Remember to keep the big picture in mind. Every time you look after yourself and do the work and move your body – even if just for a short time – you are building on this arsenal of work that your body holds onto. Eventually this work builds up and lets you do the things you never thought you could do, or achieve the goals you never thought you could achieve. Keep doing the work, be present every day and be proud of the big picture you are building.