I’m home from work and waiting to leave for my Orange Theory class. If work and traffic cooperate, I usually have about 40 minutes in between the two. Time enough to take the dog out, change and – unfortunately – sit down and rest for a few minutes.
And it’s the sitting down and resting part where I encounter my greatest challenge. It’s the time when my Inner Asshole (a phrase I am borrowing from Jennifer Pastiloff in her wonderful book, On Being Human) tries to do everything possible to get me to stay home.
You’re tired, you had a long day, it says. You know, you might get a headache if you work out. And your body is still sore from yesterday, it croons. Maybe it’s better if you stay home. Give yourself some time to recovery from the last workout. You’ll go back tomorrow, my IA reasons with me.
And even as I’m sitting here right at this moment, I’m looking out the front window and can see the storm clouds gathering – oh, I hate going out when it’s storming.
See how that happens? I don’t even have to work at it. It’s like this magical superpower I have.
And some days, it works. I eat the $12 late cancellation fee and sit in comfort. And it’ll be wonderful and I will only feel a pinprick or regret or remorse and that’s only if I look in that direction. Avoiding guilt is another superpower of mine.
But today is different. I made that promise to myself – Orange Theory every day this week. I’ve prepped Future Laura to be utterly disappointed in Right Now Laura if I don’t go. And so far, it’s working.
Yes, I’m tired. Yes, I have a bit of a headache. Sure, I’d like to stay home and make a good dinner and get annoyed with the politics on TV. But that’s the easy way. And no one said that the really good things are easy.
So, I’ll put myself into overdrive, ignoring my IA as much as possible. Climb back into my car in a few minutes and sweat so much that I’ll be dripping. And it’ll be good. Like all challenging things are.