• About
    • Penny
    • Hank
    • Juju
  • Contact
  • How To Start A Blog
  • Make Money Blogging
    • How To Make $40K Your First Year Blogging
    • Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing
    • How To Monetize A Food Blog
    • Food Blogger Pro
  • Blogging Tips
    • Blogging Resources
    • Recommended Blogging Tools
    • Blogging Tips
      • More Quick Blogging Tips
    • How To Increase Blog Traffic
      • SEO For Health Blogging
      • External SEO Tips
      • On Site SEO Tips
    • Blogging Action Plan
      • Deciding Why You Blog
      • Types of Health Blogs
      • Important WordPress Settings
      • Blog Security
      • WordPress Plugins
      • WordPress Themes
  • Shop
    • Planner Favorites
    • Fitness Favorites
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Blogging Books

A Merry Life

Healthy Living & Budgeting Blog | Health, Wealth & Everything Else

  • Budgeting
  • Finances
  • Fitness
  • Food
  • Family Life
  • YouTube

I can do this.

September 29, 2009 by Mary

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for details.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I have been repeating these words to myself since my very first class this morning.  I didn’t sleep enough or stretch enough yesterday and my body is feeling it today.  Muscles are tight, I’m tired, and everything is a struggle.

But at the first sign of resistance in lower body conditioning I starting telling myself, “I can do this.”

Each time it felt too hard to keep working a muscle I repeated the thought until I made it through the set.  In kickboxing when I didn’t think I could make it through another round of jabs I repeated the thought until I hit every punch at full strength.  I can do this.  I can do this.

Normally I’m not one for mantras. But that might be a reason why I don’t push myself.  I often lose the mental game and say, “You know, you’re right body!  I am tired!  Let’s quit now before it gets too hard.”  I don’t often tell myself I can do it.  I let the sissy muscles who want to rest control my thoughts instead of letting my thoughts control the muscles.

But it turns out I do have control of my muscles.  I can tell my body what to do and even if its hard it can do it.  I can push through the struggles if I tell myself I can.  Saying “I can do this” didn’t make it the work today any easier.  Those words weren’t a magic pill to make exercise fun and easy on a day when my body was rebelling.  But they did keep me going instead of giving up.  They did push me past the point where I could have stopped.

So, yeah, I can do this.

And so can you.

We just have to remember to tell ourselves that sometimes.

Meals:

Breakfast Tuesday 929 French ToastLunch Tuesday 929 Tuesday 929 Lunch con'tTuesday 929 SnackDinner Tuesday 929 SalmonDessert Tuesday 929Not pictured: 1.8 oz hazelnut chocolate bar.  Yums.

Moves:

1 hour lower body conditioning class

45 minute kickboxing class

30 minutes on stationary bike

1 mile walk moderate pace

30 minute Zumba class

1 hour candlelight yoga class

Filed Under: Emotional Health, Fitness Tagged With: Green Mountain, meals, mental, Struggles, workouts


« Hip, hip, hurray Monday! And photos!
Hi, I’m comfortable. »

Comments

  1. couchSpud says

    September 29, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    I’m a runner, so this mantra is quite familiar to me! You can always go farther, even if you don’t think you can. You can do it! =)

  2. Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit says

    September 29, 2009 at 2:37 pm

    I never had a doubt…

    I read that Little Engine That Could book when I was young and the message still reverberates with me: if you’re a train and you think you can do something, something good happens at the end… (okay, I’ll admit that I skimmed through it).

  3. Kat says

    September 29, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    You can and you are doing it! I am so glad you are doing so well. You are an inspiration.

  4. Chubby Stubby Kay says

    September 29, 2009 at 3:25 pm

    You CAN do it, Mary!

    Have I mentioned how awesome I think you are?

    :)

  5. MB says

    September 29, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    I love your attitude and optimism. Yes you can!!

  6. Sagan says

    September 29, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    YES YOU CAN!

    (We? Obama love.)

    The zumba and candlelit yoga class sound amazing.

  7. Lori says

    September 29, 2009 at 8:08 pm

    When I’m tired, I think that it’s the hardest for me to keep going. That’s when I want the caffeine, which leads to wanting something else to go along with it, which leads to not wanting to exercise, which leads to a downward spiral… It’s a little bit different type of “tiredness” than what you’re talking about, but I can still relate to it– just a different way. :-) Exercising helps with not being tired so much, but there are occasions that despite the exercising that I don’t fall asleep right away. And then it gets really tricky not to hit that snooze button in the morning, and reset the ‘ol alarm. Thanks for the post.

  8. michelle says

    September 29, 2009 at 9:27 pm

    YOU ARE DOING IT! Say that to yourself. Not that you can.. YOU ARE.

    I am doing this! I am doing this! Hear me roar! See me sweat! I am doing this!

    M

  9. Tatulah says

    September 30, 2009 at 4:06 am

    Hey there,

    I really like that idea of chanting. I always do it to pump myself up when I’m nervous but have never thought about it in terms of pushing myself. I’ll give it a shot, for sure.

    T.

  10. Miz says

    September 30, 2009 at 4:15 am

    I LOVE what michelle added as that was entirely my thought as well.

    My running mantra was I CAN DO THIS until this past weekend when I realized, whether I EVER DO A RACE or not, I AM doing this.

    Im a huge fan of mantras when doing things Im not a huge fan of :) it’s such a great mind distractor for me.

  11. workout mommy says

    September 30, 2009 at 7:49 am

    go Mary, go Mary! (get your groove one…it’s your birthday!)
    Are you singing yet?

    You are doing it and doing a damn fine job.
    (and seriously, your pictures are making me HUNGRY!)

  12. Mary says

    September 30, 2009 at 11:00 am

    THANKS EVERYONE!! :)

  13. Jody - Fit at 51 says

    September 30, 2009 at 11:35 am

    I agree with the others.. YOU ARE DOING IT! Amazing stuff! Candlelight yoga? That sounds calming!

  14. Margie says

    September 30, 2009 at 11:42 am

    You ARE doing it, and you ARE awesome. You’ve added inspiration to my day.

  15. Sara says

    September 30, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Thanks for the reminder. Really. Coz if it were me I would say, I can do this tomorrow! hehe So thanks for your optimism Mary.

  16. Mary says

    September 30, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    @Margie

    MARGIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so glad you commented. I miss you. :( Hope Seattle is nice right now! :)

  17. South Beach Steve says

    September 30, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    Mary, I agree with everyone else, you CAN do this! That’s right, you CAN do this! I have no doubts in my mind. You are in control, and the muscles can do nothing about it.

mary Welcome to my journey to improve my health, wealth, and everything in-between!
Join me as I learn and share helpful tips and tricks I find along the way.
  • Bloglovin
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube
Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

Popular Posts

weight loss gift ideas healthy chocolate protein pancake recipe how to start a blog how to make money blogging

Search

Recent Posts

  • Whole30 Reflections 1 Year Later + Recipes I’m Loving
  • 10 Reasons To Get Out Of Debt
  • July 2019 Online Income Report
  • Should You Go on Vacation While Paying Off Debt?
  • How Much YouTube Paid Me For 2 Million Views

Top Posts & Pages

  • Apartment Essentials For Single Ladies
  • Diet Tips For People With Kidney Stones
  • Baby Shower Brunch Food & Drink Ideas
  • 50 Fitness Motivation Quotes For Your Motivation Board
  • DIY White Painted Dresser
  • The Chick-fil-A Grilled Market Salad Review
  • Coolest Piggy Banks For Adults
  • Shop
  • Kale & Mozzarella Chicken Burgers (Burgers by AmyLu) Review
  • Types of Health Blogs

Categories

Disclosure!

Note: Affiliate links may pop up on the site when I'm recommending something. They are free for you to use, but they help support me by giving me a small commission of any sales. It's like leaving a tip for good service while buying something you'd purchase anyway. Thank you for supporting A Merry Life!

Copyright © 2022 · A Merry Life - Healthy Living & Weight Loss Blog. Tasteful Theme by Restored 316 Designs

A Merry Life (amerrylife.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Copyright © 2022 · Tasteful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in