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Exercise is like keeping a feather aloft with your breath. At any point, you can choose to stop, or blow again. Blowing works for a short amount of time, you se

Exercise is like keeping a feather aloft with your breath. At any point, you can choose to stop, or blow again. Blowing works for a short amount of time, you see some short-term results, and then you're back at the head of the loop. Basically... like most anything that takes effort you either have to make "the switch" and make it be a defining characteristic of who you are, or it will never matter more than a passing fad. In order to make "the switch" happen, find things other than pure exercise to reinforce the cycle. Find a team game to play like ... volleyball or something and don't be apologetic about sucking at it. Just keep showing up. Once your social circle includes healthy active people you'll go do healthy outdoorsy things to stay with them.

jasonshen 10y ago
This. It's like asking "when do you find time to program?" Once you start seeing yourself as a programmer, that question doesn't make sense any more. Same is true when you start seeing yourself as an active person. There's a shift in your identity that needs to happen. Being around other people who you identify with in other ways and also make physical activity a key part of their life can help a lot too in this regard.
aianus 10y ago
> Just keep showing up. Once your social circle includes healthy active people you'll go do healthy outdoorsy things to stay with them. Would those people not resent you for showing up and making them lose?
- sosborn 10y ago
  No, because for most people sports are an enjoyable activity regardless of final outcome.
- icc97 10y ago
  Persistance at something is really fundamentally important, certainly in sport. Most people really respond to enthusiasm.
- inanutshellus 10y ago
  Social leagues are all about goofing off together. Of course everyone still wants to win--social or not it's still a sport--but at that level it's really about getting you off your couch. Finding more obscure sports can help, too. For example there was recently a guy on the news desperate for people willing to play bicycle polo. "If you can ride a bike, come play with us we'll show you how to play!". Even if you join an amateur competitive league you'll still be fine because you'll sit on the bench during "real" games but you'll play during practice until you're needed or better than the alternative.

jasonshen 10y ago

This. It's like asking "when do you find time to program?" Once you start seeing yourself as a programmer, that question doesn't make sense any more. Same is true when you start seeing yourself as an active person. There's a shift in your identity that needs to happen. Being around other people who you identify with in other ways and also make physical activity a key part of their life can help a lot too in this regard.

aianus 10y ago

> Just keep showing up. Once your social circle includes healthy active people you'll go do healthy outdoorsy things to stay with them. Would those people not resent you for showing up and making them lose?

sosborn 10y ago
No, because for most people sports are an enjoyable activity regardless of final outcome.
icc97 10y ago
Persistance at something is really fundamentally important, certainly in sport. Most people really respond to enthusiasm.
inanutshellus 10y ago
Social leagues are all about goofing off together. Of course everyone still wants to win--social or not it's still a sport--but at that level it's really about getting you off your couch. Finding more obscure sports can help, too. For example there was recently a guy on the news desperate for people willing to play bicycle polo. "If you can ride a bike, come play with us we'll show you how to play!". Even if you join an amateur competitive league you'll still be fine because you'll sit on the bench during "real" games but you'll play during practice until you're needed or better than the alternative.