My own worst enemy

Sometimes you just have to get out of your own way

It always seems easier when you can blame an outside force for your problems.

Maybe the utility company is raising its rates and putting a dent in your wallet, construction is causing traffic jam to make you late or perhaps your dog ate your homework.

But what do you do when your biggest problem is yourself?

That’s been my biggest dilemma the past few years.

Every time I try to do something to make my life better, the same problem shows up like clockwork.

I’ll make a plan to make a change, get inspired, get motivated and I’ll almost always get off to an amazing start. I’ll be excited about this newly developed discipline and structure in my life.

But it only takes one wrench in the gears to throw the whole thing out of whack.

Maybe I’ll miss a workout, forget to read the next passage from a book, perhaps I was just too busy one day to complete the tasks I was working so hard to complete every day.

That’s when my brain makes the switch from action mode to analysis mode.

Instead of acting and pushing to complete my next task, I start overthinking. For example, say I’m going to be late to some event. I’ll be so worried about how people are going to react when I show up late that I decide not to go at all.

Perhaps all it takes is one little wrinkle and my newly-formed routine is completely discombobulated and I go back to the comfort of my previous bad habits.

Before I know it, I’m stuck.

That’s what happened to me for about the first six months or so of 2025. I had been so incredibly motivated to get healthy last November, quickly dropping 50 pounds.

I was eating better. I was working out almost every day. I was sleeping better. I felt better. According to my Red Cross blood donation information, all my vital signs were on the rise. Everything was improving.

But then one little wrinkle completely disrupted my routine.

I had been going to the gym with my buddy Rick at night when I was done working at the newspaper office. Usually it was just us two and we helped motivate each other. It felt like we had the entire gym to ourselves sometimes. Being big guys, it was easier to push each other and put in the extra effort when you’re not worried about a whole bunch of other people staring.

We’d also weigh in at his house every Sunday to be more accountable with our progress.

But as Rick got healthier, he got a new job and it was easier for him to switch to morning workouts when he woke up instead of late at night before bed.

I thought I could go it alone at night, but all it took was missing a few workouts and it became easier and easier to avoid driving those extra 15 minutes to the gym when I got home late from the office.

Why work up a sweat on the exercise bike when I can curl up in bed or lay on the couch and watch Netflix? Right?

Before I knew it, I’d completely lost all the momentum I’d gained. I wasn’t eating well anymore. I wasn’t going to the gym. I wasn’t going for walks at the park or the reservoir. All it would take was the flimsiest excuse and I’d easily convince myself not to put in the extra effort. I was mired in a plateau of my own making.

Now the good news is that I didn’t really gain back a lot of weight or anything, but I have been stuck within about the same weight range of 10 pounds for the past six months.

And I have plenty more than 10 pounds to lose if I ever want to hit my personal goals.

I figured if I was going to reignite that fire, I knew exactly who to talk to.

Rick.

While I’ve been stuck in the mud, he’s been churning along steadily, going to the gym every day, eating right and improving his health and life drastically. I discovered one of the ways he’s stayed motivated has been by challenging himself with miniature goals of going to the gym for 10 days in a row, 20 days in a row, etc.

If you keep hitting the smaller goals, and you’ll eventually get to the big goal at the end of the rainbow. It’s worked wonders for him and he told me that he’s reached the point where going to the gym when he wakes up has become a new habit. That it feels wrong if he doesn’t go. He’s even met some cool people among the early morning regulars who see him every day when he’s doing his thing.

So this past week, I challenged myself.

I have a milestone birthday coming up (I’ll save that for a future column). I figured why not try to put myself in the best position to feel as good as physically possible before that birthday?

So last week with about four weeks to go before my birthday, I started going back to the gym every day. I was at least going to do 60 minutes of cardio and if I still had some energy left over, maybe do some additional workouts, but I wasn’t leaving the gym until I at least hit 60 minutes on the exercise machine.

One week in, and I’ve been doing well so far. I even joined Rick one of the mornings just to see what it would feel like. I still have some work to do on my diet, but I’m taking this one step at a time. Perhaps I can be like Rick and get to the point where my happy place is this new routine instead of my old and lazy bad habits.

So far so good. Wish me luck!