When I opened the studio, one of my goals was to make fitness/athletics more approachable to everyone. That goal has been a constant in the studio's various activities ever since. One of the things that holds people back from starting a habit of moving their body is fear, and a perceived lack of competence.
I have started writing this, and other blog posts for the studio website, a GAZILLION times. And I have deleted every single one after wrestling with them, some for hours, and some for seconds. No-one has ever seen a single word of them. And it occurs to me that the problem is the same. I was afraid to just START.
The first time you do most things, your execution is pretty bad. That's the way first attempts are. You were not, I presume, Born walking. And you were likely all over the place when you learned to ride a bike, or drive a car. But later attempts became increasingly successful. You might have moved on past basics.
The fear of starting stems from a lot of factors. You might be worried about looking foolish. You might be afraid of getting hurt. You might be afraid that people in your social circle will think less of you for some reason. Maybe you're just afraid of not being good at something. And to be clear, I'm not going to try to tell you that these fears don't matter.
What I am saying is that that fear is likely robbing you of some joy. And the discomfort of facing that fear will be eclipsed pretty quickly by the fun of the activity. But it does require that you take that first step. Go try lifting that weight. Take that dance class. Go get tossed around in a judo class. Rest assured, you will probably make mistakes. That's okay. That's even part of the fun, sometimes.
I tell my yoga students all the time, that they are not an island unto themselves. When they struggle in class, but persevere, they become a light for other people to follow. Guaranteed, YOU inspire someone, even if you never hear about it. So, by simply starting, you actually make the world a slightly better place.
So, I don't totally feel good about how this is written. I'll likely rewrite it later. But for now, I'm publishing it, because making a an imperfect start is better than not starting at all.
Namastizzle
