Okay, as I’m reviewing my new list of habits, I’m rethinking one, and that’s daily exercise. Let me explain. I know it’s good for me, I know it helps my energy levels. BUT – when it’s on my list to be done daily, and I don’t do it for whatever reason? I place guilt on myself, and that’s a crummy feeling. When I reviewed my habit list this morning, they all looked positive and worth doing except when it came to “exercise”. I almost cringed at it. Ew. It’s cold outside, my body hurts, and I have so much cleaning and decluttering I need to get done inside my house. And then I started thinking about bears.

Well, not right at first. I started thinking about the cold, and the season of winter, and then the animals that hibernate over the winter. Like bears! Bears hibernate in the winter, right? It’s a fascinating process they go through, and when they are preparing for the long hibernation, after they’ve consumed all the food and water they can find, they become increasingly lethargic and rest for almost 22 hours per day (source: https://bear.org/bear-facts/5-stages-of-activity-and-hibernation/). I’m fascinated by this and found myself going down a bit of a rabbit hole to learn more but that’s not your concern. The point I was coming to is that bears go through a season of hibernation, of excessive rest and that’s just part of their life. They aren’t waking up in the spring and saying to each other, “man, I feel like such a lazy bum, I’ve done absolutely nothing for the last three months.” No, they just get up, stretch their legs, and move on to the next phase.

Now I’m thinking, why can’t that be true for me? I realize that bears do it for very good reason. They don’t live in heated homes or have ways to store food and water for later. It’s a survival mechanism, and it works for them. But I’m also not talking about preparing for 100% hibernation. I’m still human, after all. I’m just saying maybe I need to be kinder on myself, knowing that my body has a much harder time during these colder months, and maybe an extended rest may be good for it? It’s worth a shot, right?

I’m just thinking out loud here so forgive my rambling thoughts. I think what it really comes down to is that I’m trying to be more mindful of how I spend my time each day. I’m trying to be intentional with my minutes, and I’m trying to stay more tuned in to where the Holy Spirit might be leading me. And I feel like He is telling me to give myself a break in this area, at least for a season. It scares me a bit. I wonder if this is just a deeply rooted part of me making elaborate excuses. Or what if I go too long without running or strength training and I never get back to it? And why am I posting this here on the blog? Wouldn’t this be better kept to myself in a personal journal? Maybe. Or maybe someone needs to hear this, that I struggle with creating and keeping good habits, and my thoughts go to weird places like hibernating bears. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just feeling a little bit of courage to let you in on my mental processing today.

The conclusion I’m coming to is that I’m removing daily exercise from my habit list, for this season. I will still try to stay active, in and around my house, but I’m no longer making it a “rule”. When my body says rest, I’ll rest. When it says go slow, I’ll go slow. And if it says move, I believe I’ll be ready to move! Now this mama bear is off to roast some pecans 😉