Thought Check-Up

In keeping with the power of our thoughts, let's do a quick check-up. We can play a little word association game, or rather phrase association game. Pretend I'm the psychologist in a leather chair, clipboard in hand, reading glasses on my nose. You're reclining on the leather couch, with hands comfortably folded, feeling relaxed.

Me: time to workout
You: I don't have time
Me: time to T-Tapp
You: I'm too tired
Me: it's only 15 minutes
You: I don't wanna change clothes
Me: lace up your shoes
You: I'll do it later

You get the picture. The thought of what we should do is answered by the thought of what we *feel* like doing. Those darn feelings! Life is full of feelings. Going with the feelings leads to feelings we don't like, i.e., six weeks of not working out leads to creaky mornings and fat jeans. So we get feelings either way. Choose carefully which feelings you listen to and follow, for the Pied Piper of Feelings likes to lead you where it wants to go, not where YOU really want to end up.

Set Up Your Space for Success

I'll take a little detour from the power of thoughts to some practical things I did at the beginning of my T-Tapp life. From the start I took it seriously and set my physical space up for success. I got my own cute little flat-screen TV (with the all-important remote!) and DVD player and set it up in a corner of my bedroom on the desk where I apply makeup. As a detour from a detour, I stopped putting my makeup on at the bathroom mirror and created a space for this ritual several years ago as a celebration of femininity, but that's another post and possibly another blog. :-)

I cleared out a bedside cabinet for my T-Tapp DVDs and found a place for my brush. I bought a few workout tops and shorts at cheap places like Walmart and Ross, but they were *real* workout clothes nonetheless. I knew that a baggy t-shirt and sweat pants would not make me feel as "official" and they would make me hot anyway. In the summer I was grateful for the ceiling fan, and if I worked out elsewhere I had a portable fan. My first week of T-Tapp I wore some cheapo cross-trainers but my feet killed me. Forum posts directed me to Skechers 2250's and they changed my T-Tapp practice. I am now on my 4th pair, partly due to the fact that weight loss and T-Tapp caused me to lose 2 shoe sizes.

I was fortunate to have a large mirror in my bedroom sink area but if I hadn't I would have bought a mirror for the back of the door. A mirror is invaluable in helping with form (but NOT in watching yourself brush, see post below). Our rather small bedroom has a king-size bed but it is set on an angle. Through furniture re-arrangements and acquisitions over the past couple of years, my T-Tapp space is always a consideration. It doesn't take much space, but I'm very tall and very long-legged so finding a spot where I won't hit the ceiling fan or door frames is sometimes a challenge.

I mostly T-Tapp in my bedroom to this day, but occasionally I feel claustrophobic so I work out in the den. This doesn't happen often because I have to dodge little children, answer vital questions like "is it time for lunch?" at 8:02am, and grab the white-out from an artistic 3yo. Did you know that white-out dries like cement on skin in seconds and does NOT wash off couch cushions? At least in my bedroom, for those few minutes, I don't have to know.