As if my workload at this time of year wasn't hard enough, I have set myself an extra challenge this December - write a blog every day between now and Christmas day. A sort of blog-vent calendar, if you will, of my inane ramblings leading up to that most wonderful of things, my day off!


I don't think it is going to be particularly easy and I don't think the quality is going to be particularly consistent, but these concerns are of little consequence to me. The objective is to force myself, come what may, to jot down some thoughts and opinions on a daily basis, even when I don't want to. Especially when I don't want to. As much an exercise in self discipline as it is in creativity.


The concept of having a regime is not a new one for me. I have been fighting my lack of self discipline for a good couple of years now in an effort to get/keep fit with a combination of activities and with varying degrees of success. The fact is, fitness is its own reward and exercise does actually make me feel good both mentally and physically. You would think, therefore, that it would be relatively easy to pursue a fitness regime. That, after an initial period where you struggle to establish a routine, you would think it would be easy. It would become habit and you would carry it out without much thought or motivation.


You would be wrong. At least in my case.


I have yet to pin down exactly why something that you know on a rational level is good for you, i.e. exercise, that makes you feel good, boosts your energy levels, makes you more mentally alert, etc, etc is so difficult to keep up whereas a bad habit, e.g. eating junk food, which is almost exactly the opposite (makes you feel rough, depletes your energy levels, etc, etc) is so difficult to give up.


I suspect that it has something to do with the effort involved. Ordering a pizza, opening a bottle of wine or lighting a cigarette are all pretty straight forward and require the minimum of planning and effort. Yes, occasionally it might involve an impromptu trip to the corner shop but somehow these extra efforts never seem an inconvenience. Not when compared to having to get up fifteen minutes earlier to squeeze in a quick morning workout, or cycling to work in the lashing rain.

I suppose everybody is different. I know people who are more or less addicted to exercise and for whom the idea of polluting their biology with booze, nicotine or other evils is absolute anathema. I'm sure they have no trouble at all in avoiding the pitfalls of these temptations. Not so for yours truly. There's the rub right there. That little mischievous demon inside enjoys all the things that are bad for me.

A case in point was my realisation a couple of years ago that I had an intolerance to lactose. Rather unfortunate given my love of dairy, cheese in particular. Sparing you all the gory details the physical effects of dairy on my system are an unpleasant irritation. Yet somehow I cannot bring myself to completely give up on it! I know eating cheese, or ice cream or something similar will result in unnecessary physical discomfort, but I can't seem to help myself.

Weak willed? Perhaps. I suppose we shall see over the next 23 days....