Thursday, August 23, 2012

Origin Story

It occurs to me that I should fill out my "origin story" because that's what superheroes do.

At work, there’s been a push to get more fit. This include some tactics with which I don't agree and make me angry.* Any time something becomes MANDATORY, I become RESISTANT.**

I would yell long and loud, “You don’t know what my life is like! Everybody wants something from me, and my schedule is packed! I have to choose between sleep and exercise! So if you want me to exercise, you better damn well provide it!”

Here’s the thing: they did.

A group was started to do a mile of Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds video. I attended. It was okay, except: 1) I prefer to do at least 30 minutes of exercise instead of 20; 2) I really need the time before we open to the public to get things done; and 3) I didn’t like that post-PE sweaty feeling the rest of the work day. I liked the camaraderie, but this wasn’t doing it for me in terms of fitness. However, because I bellyached so much (and I am in leadership), I couldn’t just quit. It had to be this or an alternative.

I chose the alternative, which was forego sleep, get my lazy butt out of bed during o’dark with the dog and get moving. And I better make damn sure it gets posted to Facebook just to prove it.

Funny thing is, I discovered I kind of … liked it. I started walking faster and longer each day. I kept trying to beat my time. I made goals of at least 10 miles a week. I would wake up naturally and just go. I felt better for it mentally and emotionally. I even lost a little weight.

Then one of my colleagues had the audacity to suggest that I should run.

*Just to be hugely clear, these are MY opinions. They do not represent my place of employment. They do not represent my coworkers. They should not be construed as such.
** I don’t know why this is so. I was an incredibly compliant child to the point of being annoying.