Lately, push has become one of my most favorite words. Push, push, push, it never stops. We must always push. If we don't push ourselves, we have a tendency to stop and become complacent.
Every morning when I get on the treadmill, I tell myself, push, push, push. If I don't push myself, I won't want to get on the treadmill. If I don't get on the treadmill, I won't get my exercise done. If I don't get my exercise done, I won't lose any more weight. If I don't lose any more weight, I won't take another step forward in my personal re-creation process.
I'm not saying you have to constantly push. In any long-term project, such as the process of re-creation, there will come moments when you have to rest. If you constantly push, you will burn yourself out, long before you reach your destination. For example, from time to time I have to take it a little easier in my exercise routine for a while. I still got my vital exercise done, but I gave myself a change to recharge, both mentally and physically. My mind and body were simply too tired to continue on my "blistering" pace.
After a short period of taking it a little easier, I suddenly realize that I'm feeling more refreshed. I'm not only ready to resume my vigorous daily workouts, but to increase the intensity of them.
However, one thing you need to be aware of is that you do not want to stop your momentum. Had I simply taken the entire week off from exercising, it is possible I may not have ever wanted to get started again. By simply cutting back on my daily exercise, I gave my body a chance to rest, while continuing to make exercise a part of my daily routine.
That's the funny thing about pushing yourself.
If you push yourself constantly and never rest, you will wear yourself out. If you push yourself constantly and then totally stop to rest, you risk never getting started again.
The trick is to push yourself constantly, but to vary the intensity of the pushing from time to time. This gives your mind, body and spirit a chance to rest, yet you avoid the risk of not getting started again. Athletes do this all the time. They push themselves harder one or two days a week and then a little bit less during the remaining days of the week.
In other words, it's not okay to stop pushing yourself, but it is okay to take it a little easier from time to time. Your heart does the same thing. It constantly pushes each time it beats, but it still manages to rest, between the beats. You must do the same thing. Push when you have to and rest when you can.
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