If you can't say anything nice, then don't say it at all." This is a statement I have had to use with my kids a lot lately.
I really like this simple statement as it’s a great way to curb negative talk. As of late, I have seen the likes of this true statement pop up in areas of our lives that have nothing to do with things we say, but things that we do. Often, I see myself and others not taking action in their lives due to a thought process that says, "If I can't feel good when doing it, I won't do it at all"...
In the case of exercise, it goes something like this: "If I can't feel good about working out, then I won't work out at all"… I know I am guilty of this! So many times, I didn't go to the gym in the past because I mentally didn't "feel" like it, or I knew I could only get in 1/4 of my workout due to a time constraint, so I just didn't go at all. It was all or nothing... If that's our mentality, then we will surely have nothing eventually. This mentality has held me back from so many things I've set out to accomplish because I didn't "feel good" anymore or the change wasn't happening fast enough.
This last week, I was recovering from a bad upper respiratory cough. I couldn't do any form of exercise or I'd cough so hard it would cause major pain in my chest and head. In my downtime, I truly allowed myself to rest and take care of my physical body. I didn't allow this "downtime" to keep me from bettering my health; I just bettered it from a different angle. Finally, in the last few days, I have been able to get back in the gym. I'm not at my full capacity yet, but how good it feels to work out... even if I don't "feel good" about my workout, it's still better than not working out at all.
Sure, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." But if you hear that inner voice talking you out of going to the gym because you can't "feel good" about working out, tell that voice not to say anything at all and get your ass to the gym.