Last Saturday, I woke up feeling rather lazy. I fancied a day of sitting on the couch, eating chocolate and cuddling my boyfriend but only after I had spent the morning sipping on Starbucks and window shopping in the nearby Omni centre. You see, I like to be busy but every so often I pretend that chilling and being lazy is the thing for me. Of course, this happened to be the day I had signed up to a Zumba extravaganza in a nearby gym.
The afternoon neared closer and I felt increasingly lazy – my laziness only being stopped in its tracks by my motivated and exercise loving boyfriend and his common sense. “You’ll be glad once you’ve gone” and “You’ll regret not going” were the words that made me move my ass and text my friends shortly after before hopping in the car with my trendiest and brightest gear.
The wonderful Dance Fit Dublin had teamed up with some of the top Zumba instructors in the world to raise money for mental health charity ‘Aware’. Three hours in total of various styles of Zumba (including water Zumba which I opted out of) were met with endless enthusiasm and sweaty brows. By 5pm, legs were sore but spirits were high as we had all fed off the infectious energy in the hall of 100 or so people.
It’s safe to say, I slept well that night and got enough exercise for at least a couple of days. Most of all though, I was pleased with myself for having gone and making a difference both to myself and to a cause I care about. I also got to hang out with some cool people from New York, Mallorca and Switzerland as well as the locals here in The Big Smoke.
So another lesson learned, eh? Sure and well I’ll know better for next time and know what I need to do to make myself take that step without dragging my feet so much.
* I’ll make a stronger commitment earlier in the week. When a friend asks me to go and I want to go, I will buy my ticket at that juncture and not the last hour before the event. Moreover, I’ll be sure to set a date and time to meet my friends. If something’s in the diary, it will stay in the diary.
*Those thoughts will be considered early on in their development. I know my own mind and I know when I’m being un-necessarily negative and am making excuses for no good reason. In future, such thoughts won’t have time to fester and I won’t need my boyfriend to put them in their place.
*The excitement will drag on… as of course, I’ll remember exactly how wonderful I felt last time I actually went ahead and did what I had been unsure about. It’s all about associating with the wonderful and positive moments so we know how to get back there.
*Finally, I’ll remember how much I love Zumba, exercise and everything in between. It makes me smile, gives me something to do and adds a few stories to my belt. None of that can be a bad thing, right?
Sometimes, when we get so happy in our usual routines, we miss out on cool events and meet-ups that are happening around us. Having our ear to the ground and even having a rummage through social media is worthwhile. New adventures are always worth it.