I had to fool myself. It was the only way really.

It was raining hard. And it was rather dark. And I was tired. And my muscles ached.

I had a lot to do; a very full day.

I had a thousand excuses for not getting out the door to run.

But I’m a runner. And runners run.

So I told myself a story: I told myself that I wasn’t going to run. No, instead, I told myself that I was going for a walk. A short walk. A very short walk. A walk just to the end of the driveway; maybe as far as the corner; certainly no further than that.

I laced up my shoes and put on my raincoat. Out I went for my walk.

Well, it wasn’t raining nearly as hard as I thought. The air was fresh and clean. It felt good to be out of the house. The morning light lifted my spirit.

I started walking faster.

Oh, how good it felt to be stretching my legs; the oxygen filling my lungs; the dawn beginning to clear.

I walked faster still. And a bit further. I told myself I’d go a bit further.

And soon I was running. Full out.

Smiling; laughing. Feeling so good in my body.

I finished my entire running loop.

But only because I fooled myself.

I need to do this from time to time (as in, a lot) when it comes to writing, or digging into a big work project, or when the yard needs raking.

I tell myself I’ll just start out; I’ll just do “it” for just 20 minutes; I’ll keep it short; I can quit whenever I want.

I fool myself into action. To overcome that horrible first law of physics: inertia.

Action begets action. (The second law of physics takes over: momentum.) I settle into the flow, and before I know it, the project is done.

Fool yourself. It works. I recommend it. Often.

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When you’re ready to kick it up a notch, we should talk. I coach the fastest, easiest and most reliable system for getting more clients than you can handle, even if you hate marketing and selling (like I once did). Email me: walt@walthampton.com