1. YOU. You are worth putting in effort for. You are worth the time you take.
2. Today is beautiful, make the best of it. Our days here are limited, so why not make the best of the days that we have. No matter if it is raining, snowing, storming, windy, or perfectly sunny, today is a gift.
3. To clear your head. Working out (especially running for me) is a great way to either think through whatever is going on, or not think at all. Either way, whenever I’ve been in a bad mood before a run, I usually run and then realize how bad a mood I was in.
4. To get outside. Gosh even on days when it is gross and rainy, I still love going outside to do workouts. There’s just something that feels great about getting shit done in the rain or the cold, and gosh is it beautiful outside regardless of weather.
5. To live a healthier life. Exercise can be a great tool in maintaining, or building, a healthy lifestyle. I feel its’ effects throughout my life, whether it be that I’m sick less often, or that I’ve lost 9 pounds since I started consistently working out. SO, I really am loving how healthy I feel all around.
6. To increase productivity. I don’t know if maybe this is just me imagining things, or maybe I am getting better at my job, but I have been so much more productive at work as I have gotten in to the swing of working out 4 times a week. It feels great.
7. To see the world. Exercising outdoors in a new city is a really great way to experience the city and the area. Even if its’ just you going into your neighborhood for your workout, you are getting out there.
8. To test yourself. I’m naturally pretty competitive, and I’ve found a way to channel that into bettering myself. My competitiveness has given me an outlet to work hard (in a lot of aspects in my life actually), and while sometimes I have a bad day or a bad workout, I continually try until I really should not.
9. For those who can’t. There are so many people out there who would be dying to be able to get out and do any workout. So on days where I am lacking motivation to get outside, I think about how lucky I am to be able to go out and exercise.
10. YOU. Again, working out should be something you want to do for you more than anything else. YOU are the driving force here. YOU are strong. YOU are amazing inside and out. If there’s a day where you just really do not want to workout, don’t. Try again tomorrow. Don’t force something on yourself that you don’t want because someone, anyone, told you you should.

Working out has provided me with so many benefits. And when I first started working out I resisted it without enjoying the workouts at all. It took a bit, and listening to some podcasts at work to put me in the right frame of mind to really enjoy myself while getting healthier.