Just do it.

Just three little words. Occasionally I have to use those words on myself. Often followed by "just start out" or "just do 15 minutes, you can do anything for 15 minutes."

I learned that last phrase from The Flylady. If you don't know who she is, check her out. She isn't only about decluttering but so much more. It's worth your time to nose around on her site for a bit. She has updated it too. A bit more user friendly now.

If you're one of those people who "poo poo" the "you can do anything for 15 minutes" idea let me just say you are acting like one of my kids. Have you ever heard the saying, "Don't knock it 'til you try it?"

Almost 6 years ago, my father died from leukemia. About 4 years before that, my mom had open heart surgery for a complete blockage. After my father died, I really got to thinking. Why would I wait until I had some major health issue before doing positive things for my health? I decided then that I would change some things in my life. I wasn't sure what to do. I remembered the Flylady saying, "You can do anything for 15 minutes." Lucy was still pretty young so I wasn't sure I could exercise away from home. Videos just didn't sound interesting so I decided to start jumping rope. I could do that on the back porch while the children were still sleeping.

Have you ever tried jumping rope for 15 minutes when you were out of shape? Holy Smokes! I had no idea that jumping rope was one of the most intense forms of exercise! I had trouble jumping rope for 5 minutes, much less 15. I kept at it though. When I went out to Texas to visit my grandmother, I forgot my jump rope. Fortunately for me, she lived across the street from a high school which had a track. I decided to strap on my shoes and go run. Of course I gave myself permission to be done after 15 minutes. I don't really know how long I ran. I would jog a 100 yards and then walk a 100 yards. Yep, that's all I would do. A few years and one more baby later, I ran my first marathon. 26.2 miles for those who don't know.

This is me at mile 25! Look, you can see my feet were still coming off the ground. I still can't believe I actually ran that far. It's a good thing I have photos, a medal and witnesses to prove it. If you had told me 6 years ago that I would run a marathon, I would have laughed in your face. I couldn't even jump rope for more than 5 minutes, are you kidding?

So when you have something you need to do or want to do, just set a goal of 15 minutes and give yourself permission to quit. Something is better than nothing. You might find that all you need to do is get started. Getting started is more than half of the battle.

Go ahead, just do it.