How To Stay Consistent With Movement When Life Gets Chaotic
September has always given New Year energy to me. Maybe it’s because I’m a high school teacher and a dance teacher, but my life still runs on that September to June schedule. Fresh notebooks, back-to-school clothes, and a crisp new schedule. At the end of August, I always sit down and meticulously map out my days: work, friend-dates, appointments, dance classes, and workout.
And then…by mid-September the snooze button would win in the morning, my workout clothes would stay in my closet, and my carefully colour-coded schedule would start to unravel. The first thing to go? Anything that looked like ‘taking care of myself.’
Because here’s the truth: I can’t cancel work. I won’t bail on a friend.
But a dance class where I’m a student? A 30 minute at-home workout? That somehow felt optional.
Cancelling on myself was always the easiest option.
But not this year.
I’ve learned, through many seasons of September-fresh-starts and especially now as a mom where I have limited time for myself in the day, that there IS a secret to keeping promises to myself when life gets chaotic. And it’s not about finding the ‘perfect’ routine that will somehow keep me motivated.
You have to practice consistency over perfection.
Life is never going to magically clear its schedule for you. There won’t be a season where your calendar slows down, all the traffic lights turn green, and you find yourself with endless motivation to push through on the hard days. Life ebbs and flows - sometimes it’s quiet, sometimes it’s hectic. Waiting for a day that feels easier means waiting forever.
So the trick is to show up imperfectly.
For me right now, that looks like:
I schedule my movement for the week (whether its 20 minute strength training sessions, a dance class, or a walk)
Committing to showing up for it
Giving myself permission to stop after 5 minutes if I really want to.
That’s it. This is consistency.
And here's the magic: consistency builds habits. Habits shape our identity. And identity is what slowly and quietly transforms you into someone who doesn’t cancel on themselves anymore.
Notice what’s not on my list: burning X amount of calories, smashing Y goals, or sweating for X amount of minutes. Because I’ve learned that if I go into my life with an ‘all or nothing’ mindset, I’ll choose nothing more often than I’d like to admit. Showing up with no pressure (and no judgement) is actually what keeps me going.
Let’s think of this in terms of dance technique. You don’t develop great technique by doing something perfectly once or twice. Growth happens in imperfect repetition - in showing up to class when you’re tired and would rather stay on the couch. The messy reps mixed with the perfect reps are what build the skill.
So this fall, I challenge you to practice consistency over perfection. Show up for yourself in the chaos - on the days you feel unstoppable and on the days you’re running on fumes. Because it’s not the perfect workouts that change you, it’s the consistent ones.
