The One Rule to Live By

Whenever there’s something you need to do, go ahead and do it.

Don’t second-guess it. Don’t overthink it.

Just do it.

You won’t regret it when you’re done.

This is true of any task, from that to-do list item you’ve been avoiding to that uncomfortable conversation with your co-worker who chews with her mouth open.

Every Monday through Friday, I wake up early to exercise before work.

Having done this for several years now, it’s become a habit, an unconscious, unquestioned part of my daily routine, like brushing my teeth or dodging inconsiderate drivers on my commute.

But recently, I’ve begun questioning it.

I’m not sure where this has come from, but every morning has become a battle.

When my alarm clock sounds, that devil’s advocate of an inner monologue pipes up, telling me to burrow deeper into the covers, that missing one day is no big deal, that the extra hour of sleep would allow me to see past 10 p.m. for once.

Though these arguments are persuasive, experience has taught me they’re propaganda.

More often than not, when I have gone back to sleep, I’ve felt even worse when I eventually got up.

Yet every time I’ve forced myself out of bed and into my Asics, I’ve felt better.

Without fail.

Every. Single. Time.

I’ve never regretted it once I’ve done it.

That’s not to say that those first few minutes aren’t rough, or that I don’t question my thought process when my quads start to catch fire.

But the second the workout ends, all the analysis and anxiety and negativity vanishes, because this titanic task that’d been looming is now in my rearview mirror.

I’ve accomplished something. And there’s nothing more satisfying than that.

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This originally appeared on 100 Naked Words.