The Power of Belief

Yesterday I joined a gym. "No big deal" I hear you say. But for me, it's a watershed moment. You see, I was a regular gym goer. On a Friday night, whilst my friends were at the pub, I was in the gym. On Christmas Day I was lacing up my running shoes, and would pound the streets in snow, hail, and lightning storms! I considered myself fit, prided myself on being strong and loved to move my body to its full potential.

But that was 12 years ago.

Since then, I have had two children, moved house, climbed the career ladder, had a nervous breakdown, and lived through a pandemic. Again, no big deal, you might say. That's life! And yes, it is, but I have used life as an excuse to not move my body in ways that will keep it healthy and happy. I have become sedentary. As my only walking is now done in two 5-minute strolls to do the school run, and my commute is up the stairs in our home office, I find myself sitting down for most of the day. However, the reasons (aka excuses) are valid: I am tired, most of the time, I don't have time to fit in exercise, I tried going back to the gym in 2020 and hated it.

But something changed last week.

Last weekend, I walked up a flight of steps - over 200 in fact - on a steep incline in the harbour town of Salcombe, UK. When I got to the top, after stopping several times, I was very out of breath. But what troubled me the most was I was still out of breath in the car, 15 minutes later. This shocked me, acted as a wakeup call and became the catalyst that set-in motion me signing on the dotted line for a 6 month gym membership and fili