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Day One

I hate day one.

Last week I went back to the gym for the first time in (omitted because I am ashamed). I’d been back in the US for three weeks, but I hadn’t gone yet.

Because I hate day one.

Day one is an in-your-face reality check. It’s the day where you have to face the fact that you’re not as strong as you used to be. You’re going to have to use lighter weights or walk more than you run. You’re going to be out of breath and sweat too much and feel really fat in your workout clothes.

Day one is embarrassing. I walked into the weights section, took a deep breath, swallowed my pride, and picked up a ten pound weight. I used to squat the bar with plates stacked on, and here I was picking up a ten pounder. Embarrassing.

Day one is intimidating. I worried the weights I chose would be too heavy and I’d have to swap out for lighter ones. I worried those big boys in the weights area would think I didn’t know what I was doing or wonder why I was trying. I was nervous they were judging me. Intimidating.

Day one had loomed over my head so heavy for so long that I just avoided it – knowing that it would come eventually. But you know what? I got tired of living day zero over and over again.

What’s your day one?

Maybe it’s going back to the gym. Maybe it’s throwing away the candy in your pantry and buying stuff that makes your body feel great.

Maybe there’s some stuff you need to talk to God about and you just can’t bring yourself to do it. Maybe you’re worried he’s mad at you or annoyed with you so you just keep living your day zero, and day one is looming over your head.

Maybe you have an incredible idea you’re sitting on and you just keep sitting on it because you aren’t sure where to start.

Maybe your finances are a mess and you’re too afraid to know the truth about what you have to dig yourself out of.

And maybe you’re embarrassed to start, because what might people think? You’ve tried the gym before and you quit. Or you know other people who have tried and fizzled out and so you’re too embarrassed to start something else, because what if you fail? (Pro tip – people don’t care as much as you think they do.)

See, we all like day 30. Or day 90. Or day 365. I knew walking into that gym that in a week, I would feel a bit stronger. In a month, it could be a boring habit. People in the gym might say hi to me because they were seeing me regularly. And in a year, if I stayed with it, my body would change. We want the end result – but we have to live through day one to get there.

I’m not great with day ones, but I came up with a list of ways you can get going on that thing that’s looming over you:

1. Just do it.
2. Stop researching and do it.
3. Stop talking about it and do it.
4. Really. Just get up and do it.

I’ve learned that day one usually isn’t as bad as we anticipated it would be. And once it’s over, we usually feel pretty relieved that we finally faced that thing we were so afraid of. And the nice thing is, at the end of day one, we get to look forward to day two – the pain of day one is over.

You may feel intimidated, you may feel embarrassed, but everyone has their day one. Everyone. Yours can be today.

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