How Many Tomorrows Have You Promised Yourself

You know whne you haven’t been to the gym in a while. (And when I say “a while,” I mean months. Maybe even seasons. Or years!)

 

You keep telling yourself you will go tomorrow. Tomorrow turns into Monday (Cause that’s a good fresh start to the week). Then Monday turns into next month (Cause the 1st of the month would be a fresh start). Then enough time passes that returning feels harder than starting ever did.

 

Because now you know you are not walking back into the gym as the version of yourself who left it.

You know you will be starting over.

You know you have lost strength.

You know your body will not move the way it used to.

And you know the road back will be longer than you want it to be.

 

So, you wait until you feel ready. Except ready rarely comes.

 

 

Over the past few months, I had taken a few fitness studio classes here and there, but I had not done anything consistently. The scale had not changed much, which made it easier to pretend everything was fine.But I knew the truth. I had lost muscle. I had lost flexibility. My body felt different. Honestly, I just felt blah.

 

Still, I kept finding reasons not to go. I was tired. It was too late. I would start Monday. I needed a better plan. I needed to get my diet together first. I would go when I felt more motivated.

 

Every excuse sounded reasonable on its own. Together, they kept me stuck.

 

Then, on a Friday night at 8:00 pm, I mentioned to a fried that I wanted to start going back to the gym. He said “well, then, go now”. And he kept pushing. Not gently. He pushed me really, annoyingly hard. I did not feel motivated. I did not suddenly become excited about exercising. I certainly did not feel confident walking back into a place that would remind me of everything I had lost. But I went. Because otherwise he was not going to stop annoying me to go.

 

 

We hear a lot about self-discipline, personal responsibility, and holding ourselves accountable. All of that matters.

But sometimes we need someone else to interrupt the story we have been telling ourselves. Sometimes we need a friend who can recognize that we are capable of more than what we are currently choosing. Sometimes we need someone who will not let us hide behind another reasonable excuse.

 

We need people who will encourage us, believe in us, and occasionally annoy us into taking the first step.

That does not make the accomplishment less ours. I was still the one who had to put on my workout clothes. I was still the one who had to leave my house at 8:00 pm on a Friday night. I was still the one who had to walk through the door and do the work. But I may not have done it without the push.

 

We love celebrating the person who finally takes action. BUT we do not always acknowledge the person standing behind them saying, “Get up. You can do this. Go.”

 

 

Here is what I realized that night while I was on the treadmill at the gym at 8:30 pm:

I did not go back to the gym because I finally felt confident…going back gave my confidence new evidence.

 

Recent research on exercise adherence and self-efficacy supports this kind of reinforcing relationship. Consistent action is associated with stronger belief in our abilities, which can then make continued action feel more possible.

 

In plain English, ACTION CREATES EVIDENCE. Evidence strengthens SELF-BELIEF. Stronger self-belief makes the next action easier.

 

We often assume we need confidence before we begin. But maybe confidence is not the prerequisite. Maybe confidence is the receipt! Maybe it’s the proof we receive after doing something we were not sure we could do.

 

You do not need enough confidence to begin. You need one action that gives your confidence something to believe. That first workout did not restore all the muscle I had lost. It did not instantly make me flexible again. It did not erase the months I had spent procrastinating. But it did change something important… was no longer a person who kept promising herself she would go back to the gym tomorrow. I was the person who went.

 

 

A writer writes one paragraph.

A leader initiates one necessary conversation.

A speaker records one imperfect video.

A healthy person takes one restorative action.

 

One rep will not complete the transformation, but it can interrupt the identity you have accidentally accepted.

 

“I am someone who keeps putting this off.”

“I never finish what I start.”

“I cannot get back to who I was.”

“I have lost too much progress.”

 

The first action gives you another story to tell. It becomes evidence that the person you remember is still there. Maybe confidence is not something you need to build from nothing. Maybe it is something you remember when your actions reconnect you with who you have always been.

 

I am less than six months away from turning 50. (Which btw is so crazy to think about, crazy how time flies)

 

That number has caused me to think seriously about how I want to enter the next decade of my life. Not just physically. I want to become more intentional about my workouts, my diet, my prayer life, and my mindset. I want to finish the things I keep saying matter to me. I want to invest in relationships that are mutual, healthy, honest, and filled with laughter and love. I want to care for my mind, body, and soul.

 

I want to be locked in.

 

Not because I am trying to punish myself for where I am today. Not because I am ashamed that I stopped. And not because turning 50 means I need to prove anything to anyone. I want to do it because my life is a gift, my body has carried me through more than most people will ever know, and I want to honor both.

 

When I texted my parents I was heading to the gym at 8:00 pm on a Friday night, my mom texted back:

 

“Excellent our girl ”

 

It was such a small message, but it meant so much. There was no criticism about how long it had taken me. No reminder of all the times I said I was going to start. Just celebration that their girl was going. Maybe that is another lesson in this.

 

 

So, what tomorrow are you still promising yourself?

 

Maybe your thing is not the gym. Maybe it is writing the article. Applying for the opportunity. Scheduling the appointment. Creating the video. Returning to church. Having the conversation. Setting the boundary. Asking for help. Beginning again.

 

You may not feel ready. You may not feel confident. You may need a friend to push you harder than you want to be pushed. And know what’s super cool, we all have each other inside of Women In Title to ask for the push we need.

 

Or better yet, if someone tells you they have a goal they

 

So if someone is stuck in their own cycle of “tomorrow” telling you about a goal they want to accomplish, maybe it’s our duty as WiT to annoyingly push each other with love and be the one who reminds them of what they are capable of. Then celebrate them when they go.