Last week I had a reader send me an email that went like this:
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“Hi Paul, I’ve been reading your articles for a while now and what I’m struggling with most, is figuring out how to get myself to actually do more exercise.
I know what I should be doing, and I suppose I do have the time to do it, but I just can’t get myself to stop being lazy and keep putting it off.
Any suggestions?”
– Colin, 65, The Headland
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We all feel lazy, and we all get those days where we put things off from time to time.
Exercising after all of the housework is done?
No thanks.
Cook a meal for an hour and then have to wash-up when you can get a take away instead?
Again, that doesn’t sound very appealing.
But what happens when ‘laziness’ gets to the point where we aren’t looking after ourselves?
What if ‘laziness’ isn’t the thing at all that’s holding us back and it’s actually something else that’s going on?
I’m not a big believer in being lazy. I actually think it’s influenced by our thoughts and how much we enjoy our life.
Let Me Give You An Example…
I once had a patient named John he hated going for walks, even just short 20 minute walks, any day of the week, (even though John knew that gentle activity was going to help ease his stiff back!).
However, when John’s back pain was getting in the way of going out for lunch with his family, and taking his wife to the shops, a short walk didn’t seem so bad after all.
In fact, John took at least a 15-minute walk each day and found different ways to include walking in his day-to-day routine, and he could continue to do the things he loved!
It’s easier when you know that not doing something you ‘should’ being doing, (such as some form of movement each day), starts to affect your life and stops you from doing the things you enjoy the most.
So what if laziness is just a story?
If you tell yourself over and over again that you’re just ‘too lazy’ to so something, it’ll become more and more true in your head.
So instead of letting laziness reach the point where it’s causing you more back pain than good, try to look at it as a made up story instead, and start implementing small habits into your day-to-day life to ensure you can still keep doing the things you love!
It’d be horrible wouldn’t it, if one day you woke up and your back pain was stopping you from doing certain things such as dancing with your wife, taking the grandchildren down to the park, being able to drive…
So, I’ve got one tiny habit to pass on to you today which will help to keep you out of the laziness rut (or prevent you from ever getting in it!)…
And The New Habit Is This:
Look at walking (if you don’t enjoy it), or any other activity you can’t get yourself to do, in a different way.
You don’t have to start big straight away, even just 10 minutes of something you DO quite like to do instead, will help rid of this feeling of ‘laziness’, and will keep you healthy and moving, so you won’t end up with something like back pain getting in the way!
If you don’t like to walk, dance around the house instead! Honestly, putting on your favourite upbeat music whilst you’re cleaning the house will definitely count as daily movement! (I quite like to turn up Bon Jovi myself – but keep that quiet ok?)
If you have got back pain right now… and you want some more help, go to this web page right now to request your free back pain report especially for you:
http://www.paulgoughphysio.com/back-pain
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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