Convenience is your worst enemy. Well, it’s certainly my worst enemy when it comes to ensuring I get my weekly dose of outdoor time. Seriously, think about it. How many times have you wanted to go for a run after work, but found that the sofa was a little too enticing after a long day at the office, or opted for a ready meal and a night in over cooking up a storm on the campfire with your friends?
I mean I live one mile from my gym and the number of times I’ve opted to drive there instead of running, cycling or even walking frustrates me beyond belief. There’s always an excuse, isn’t there? It’s raining. It’s dark. Or I don’t have time to run there, gym, run back, cook dinner and do all the other things our evenings demand of us.
But honestly, it would probably take an extra ten minutes (20 minutes if you’re really being slow — but if you’re running in the rain or the dark, you probably want to get there and back quicker, so you wouldn’t be dawdling anyway). TEN MINUTES. Is that really the end of the world?
And how much better do you feel when you actually choose the slightly harder alternative? Don’t you feel like the king of the world — sorry queen of the world? It gets your endorphins going. You know you’ve done something good for yourself and for the world. I mean think about the difference it would make if everyone who ever jumped in their car for a mile long (or less) journey decided to run, walk or cycle instead. How much less pollution would be going into the air?
Convenience has a massive impact on our lives. A massive negative impact in my opinion. From food to exercise to fresh air, convenience is constantly knocking on our door, tempting us to choose the easy path. And in these dark, cold, rainy months, convenience is especially hard to turn down.
But think how much healthier we’d be without convenience food. I mean how good does food taste when you’ve spent an hour in the kitchen, creating and crafting some delicious masterpiece? You also know it’ll be good for you, because you know what you’ve put in it.
Could I be daring enough to set you a challenge? This is a challenge my husband and I are actually also trying to do ourselves. This week, when you walk past a bottled smoothie or your local chippie. Instead of giving in to temptation and grabbing the drink off the shelf or tucking into that fish and chips, why not look up a yummy recipe instead, go buy the ingredients and make it yourself.
I’m currently loving the recipes from Joe Wicks, The Body Coach. He’s got so many ridiculously yummy meals, snacks, smoothies and desserts and most of his meals are completely makeable in just 15 minutes. I love how quick they are to make and I know they’re all super healthy. And if you’re worried about time, his top tip is to ‘prep like a boss’. And I totally agree, it’s all about being prepared. Be efficient in your cooking and you’ll notice just how much good cooking you can fit into your already busy week.
I know there have been loads of times I’ve wanted to get out after work, pick up a picnic I pre-prepared and head to the beach with Tom to watch the sunset and spend some quality time together. But life has been busy, we’ve been tired and instead we’ve often opted for a lazy night in. And you know what? We’ve never felt better for it. We’ve always felt somehow cheated.
I think the trick to getting the better of the lures of convenience is to keep reminding yourself how you’ll feel after you’ve chosen the harder but more rewarding path. Don’t let convenience get the better of you and steal your life away. Don’t let it steal all those precious memories you could have of surfing the evening away, then cooking up your dinner on a campfire or those memories of doing crazy adventure in the few short hours you have between the end of the work day and the beginning of the next.
Choose the road that requires a little more effort. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Sorry, rant over. Do you struggle with this too? Would you love to get out more, but find excuses get the better of you more often than you’d like? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s chat. Let’s encourage each other. And let’s get out there.
Photos by myself and LJM Photography
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Great post.
Convenience really is hard to beat sometimes. It’s a battle I’ve been fighting too over the last few years. I’ve found that starting small is the best. For example, I began by choosing to use the stairs rather than a lift or escalator. And now, I’ve built a habit and automatically go for the stairs.
In 2015, taking Alastair Humphreys microadventure challenge has redesigned how I think about going to the outdoors. I make a little more effort to plan and if the end of the month is coming near and I still haven’t done anything out of the ordinary, I kick myself and go do something. It’s become a habit too now. It’s even one that has become so integral in my life that I feel the lack of it when I spend a whole month not purposefully going out (though I don’t sleep out every month any longer).
For me what had really helped to break free of convenience was to take the changes as challenges. Every time I’d use the stairs even if I really didn’t want to, I’d give myself a little congratulation in my head and that boosted me. It was like ‘Well done. It wasn’t that hard after all.’
That’s such an encouraging comment – thanks Allysse! Do you know I started with stairs too and now whenever I can, I opt for stairs over an escalator or lift – even when my university department was on the fourth floor. And even if you do opt for the escalator, try walk or run up them. That’s a great idea too to make sure you fit an adventure in every month. I think the biggest battle is the battle of the mind. We’re totally capable of ignoring convenience, we just need to get mind over matter.
My biggest battle is my enthusiasm. I have every intention and even when the exercise is delivered on a plate and I just have to turn up a lot of the time I can’t be bothered. I think little adventures that are fun is the way forward for me.
This is why I wrote this piece Suz – I knew I couldn’t be the only who struggled with lack of motivation or the lure of convenience. I think probably one of the best ways to combat it is to do adventures and exercise with friends – so much more fun and you also don’t want to let them down 🙂
What a great post ending with a perfect challenge. You’ve hit the nail on the head – choosing the option that is a teeny bit more hard work makes you feel SO much better in the end so why don’t we always do that? It’s true for pretty much everything – food, exercise (I’m so good at getting in the car because it’s easier than cycling to work), cleaning the house, organising an event. I’m super talented when it comes to taking the easy option, but I know you’re right. Why is it so hard to buck the trend?!
Thanks Zoe. I knew I couldn’t be the only one that struggled with convenience and I know I always find comfort in blogs and articles by people struggling with the same things I do. Nice to see it written down sometimes. Gives you the kick up the butt you need – I need anyway!
My issue comes more from being dragged back by others, I’m up for doing things and find my family would rather ;laze about on the sofa,
Hi Ashley, oh I know, that’s the hardest. Are you part of any outdoor groups or have many outdoorsy friends? I find being surrounded by people like that motivates you to get out more 🙂 Getting out is always more fun with friends…
I wholeheartedly agree, however it is hard in reality. I work 50 hrs a week and that combined with the demands of a toddler and this blog and life mean that I take the easy option far too easily. I am sometimes hard on myself, then I think that I probably achieve more before I even get to work than most people do in a whole day! That being said, I have never been more unfit and unhealthy. Something needs to change and 2017 is going to be the year I take my life back! Great post and really struck a chord with me, it’s like someone wrote down what I’ve been thinking but haven’t been able to articulate.
Hey Lauren, oh man, I feel you. I agree – we can’t be too hard on ourselves, but there are small steps we can take. And that’s what it’s all about. That’s why I love Joe Wicks’ recipes – super healthy but super quick too. Even if you just choose the stairs over the escalator/lift. You can stay fit and healthy, but you gotta start small.
My favourite excuse to myself is ‘I’ve been outside all day’ which doesn’t mean I’ve done any exercise!!
I get really grumpy if I don’t run or walk or climb or swim a good few times a week! My best time for doing it is on my way home from work, I often park a few miles from home and run to the house. Then hubby drops me upto my car after dinner! Or we meet at the crag or climbing wall after work.
I got a Fitbit earlier in the year and I’ve found it really useful for making me go for a walk or run if I’ve been in the office all day! Definitely recommend to anyone wanting to be more active! It’s amazing how motivated you feel when something is telling you you’ve only walked 2000 steps that day!
I’ve also got some great throw together recipes up my sleeve, usually involving vegetables and spaghetti! And I always make extra so when I really can’t be bothered there’s frozen homemade healthyness in the freezer! But in the summer we often just had nuts and fruit for tea because we were too busy climbing to go home and cook 😊
Amazing, thanks so much for the tips Hev! I love the ‘cooking double/triple portions’ trick – we do that too!