Monastic Hack for Fitness Consistency
Monk Mindset for Living Well
Monk Mindset 4
Refresh without Indulging: Personal Wellness
Reflection on the Monk Mindset & Quote
While in the monastery, I had a brief assignment to a missionary monastery in Uganda – yup, those exist.
I had a habit of daily vigorous exercise – running, weight lifting, etc. However, it was harder to exercise in Uganda without access to running places or a gym. Part of me wanted to just skip exercise. But I knew that everything in my life – relationships, sleep, work, mood, etc – was better when I exercised regularly.
So I had to improvise.
I filled my suitcase with books and designed a workout routine involving lifting the heavy suitcase in different ways.
I still have that little suitcase and think fondly on all the curls and squats I did with it in that Ugandan hut.
It can be easy to set aside things like exercise when faced with new circumstances or when we’re off our routine. Of course, occasional misses happen from time to time and we can’t beat ourselves up about them.
Yet, ALL of us need exercise nearly daily. We’re designed for intense labor. When we live cush lives that no longer depend on physical exertion, our bodies need another outlet for it – hence running or gyms.
So now when I travel or have a busy schedule, I plan ahead and literally schedule my workout in - sometimes even building my schedule around the workout so I don't miss it.
Put It Into Practice This Week
What is one area of personal fitness you tend to neglect? Maybe you struggle with this daily, just on weekends, or when things get busy….
Identify - what’s blocking you from accomplishing this fitness discipline?
Now, what’s the smallest version of performing the activity you're struggling with? (For example, if you never run but want to, can you just run to the next block and back?)
Take the smallest version of the activity and schedule it on your calendar now – even if it's just a 5 min calendar invite.
The hardest part is often just starting. Once you reduce the friction of starting, you realize you can make almost anything happen.
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