The Simple Change

I had a little revelation recently.

For ages, I made myself go swimming once a week.

Now, before you think that's a good thing, let me explain.

Because of my background in competitive swimming, I had a very fixed idea about what swimming should look like.

It should be hard.

It should be fast.

It should leave me out of breath.

It should involve lengths, timings, effort and pushing myself.

So every week I'd think, "I really should go swimming."

And I'd go (mostly!)

But if I'm honest?

I didn't particularly look forward to it.

Then one day, I changed the rules.

Instead of treating swimming as training, I decided to treat it as a source of enjoyment.

Now I go to the pool and swim whichever stroke I feel like

I don't count lengths.

I don't care how fast I'm going.

I don't even care if I stop halfway through and float for a bit.

I just move.

And do you know what happened?

I started looking forward to it.

The funny thing is, I'm still getting many of the same benefits.

I'm moving my body.

I'm using my muscles.

I'm improving my fitness.

I'm reducing stress.

But now I'm enjoying it too.

And it made me wonder how many of us are doing the same thing with exercise.

Maybe you've decided walking "doesn't count" unless it's three miles.

Maybe you've convinced yourself that gardening isn't proper exercise.

Maybe you think a workout only matters if you're dripping in sweat afterwards.

Maybe you've turned movement into another thing you have to achieve.

What if movement didn't have to be hard to be worthwhile?

What if a gentle walk with a friend counted?

What if dancing in the kitchen counted?

What if stretching while the kettle boils counted?

What if playing with grandchildren counted?

What if swimming slowly counted?

Because the truth is, movement isn't a punishment for having a body.

It's a gift because you have one.

When we stop asking, "How many calories did I burn?"

and start asking,

"How can I enjoy moving today?",

everything changes.

Suddenly, movement becomes something we want to do rather than something we have to do.

And that's usually when it becomes sustainable.

I wonder if that's part of God's wisdom too.

Jesus said:

"My yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30)

Sometimes I think we make things much heavier than God intended.

Including exercise.

So...

If there were no calories to burn, no weight to lose and nobody watching...

How would you most enjoy moving your body?

Maybe that's exactly where you should start.