A big thanks to Yoovie on sparkpeople.com (if you’re a health-nut or want to lose some weight, if you haven’t checked this site out, you are definitely missing something) for this wonderful idea.

Note to Self: Read this every time you feel like skipping the gym

Dear Self,

You already know the benefits of working out and how you feel afterwards and all of that. But I know you will forget about them when you are feeling a strong pull towards the couch instead of the treadmill. You may think you will remember all of these reasons, but they will inevitably not get through to you. Because if you really did remember, nothing–I mean absolutely nothing–could stop you from working out.

So, listen here lady, you are required to read this list whenever that resistant mood strikes.

1. Think of that instructor that called you a beginner and handed you 3-lb weights. Think of how much you want to show people like that that you are sooooo not a beginner.

2. Remember those pipes you can feel on your arms. You can feel them, but you can’t quite see them in all their glory. Don’t you actually want to see them? Each day is progression towards that beautiful sculpted look that no one can help but be envious of.

3. What would you rather your son see you doing: jumping around the living room or sitting on the couch, eyes glued to something mindless flashing across the TV or computer screen?

4. Think about how you feel after not working out. You feel like a sloth, withering away into a blob. Now, think about that refreshed feeling after working out. Like your lungs are brand new and your heart has received a tune-up. Your blood seems to pump with renewed energy and your muscles feel victorious.

5. Remember how your ankles used to hurt when you were less-than-healthy? Remember how you haven’t felt that since you’ve started working out? You don’t want crappy ankles again, do you?

6. Exercise brings about a better mood for the rest of the day and into the following day. It’s a free way to feel good without help from prescribed chemicals. It’s the best way you know how to make an average day feel fabulous.

7. Exercise allows you to sleep better at night. And when you don’t work out, it’s just the opposite. It’s so much more worth it to work out than to wake up feeling exhausted the next day.

8. Since working out, you have significantly lowered your cholesterol, have rarely been sick, lowered your blood pressure, decreased body pain, and done so much more good for your body than you’ll probably ever know. This feels amazing.

9. There is nothing more sublime than working out–or moving about in any manner–outdoors. The clean air, the vastness of space, the bird noises, the wind whispers, the cloud movements, the changing scenery, and the towering trees all seem to cleanse in a way that can never be replicated elsewhere.

10. It’s so refreshing to be able to run up the stairs at work and not get winded at the top.

11. This is one of the few habits that have become solidly implanted in your repertoire. It’s an established habit and a record you’ve made for yourself that you do not want to break. Your fitness habits are one of the things you’re most proud of yourself for achieving. Don’t give it up just because you feel a little blah.

12. Take that little girl that used to be chubby and misfitting by the hand and tell her that everything is going to be OK for her later in life. She will go on to do things she never thought possible. Even though the 1-mile testing in gym used to be the worst day of the year for her, she will later hold ribbons for running a Half Marathon and several 5Ks.

13. Look to that woman in her 50s, 60s, 70s and tell her you’re paving the way for health and blissful contentment in the future. She will thank you for all the efforts you are making now.

14. Remember people who have asked you for advice about fitness-related issues. It’s a strength of yours. Never succumb to a sedentary lifestyle. Never make fitness a weakness. Do you want to be the role model or the bad example?

15. Remember you sit in a chair in front of a computer all day at work. You require a workout session to combat that motionlessness!

16. Running takes stress and squeezes the life out of it until all that’s left is angels singing.

17. It gives you that wonderful glow and feeling of warmth, especially in the winter, that keeps you going in the evening. Nothing makes you want to lie still more than a cold body.

18. It’s fun to wear those cute moisture-wicking shirts and performance leggings. Decked out with a cute water bottle, crisp white sneakers, an iPod and a pink headband is almost as fun as playing dress-up.

19. You get to be one of the most productive people you know of. Don’t let anyone pass you up.

20. When you push yourself to achieve things that didn’t seem possible not long ago or that take you to a whole new level, you are proving to yourself that you have the ability to achieve what you set out to achieve. This awareness of your potential leads you to fulfill other dreams as well.

21. You are not content just being mediocre! You are not content being stagnant!

22. Get your money’s worth out of your magazine subscriptions, stock of videos, treadmill and other equipment. Don’t be one of those people that only hop on the treadmill to dust it.

23. How else are you going to keep up with your son when he develops lightning-inspired speeds and is drawn to particularly heavy traffic sites? How else are you going to teach him healthy habits?

24. Name 5 better ways to spend your evening!

25. If you don’t work out, that feeling of guilt will linger for days until you work out again. This often culminates into one giant bad mood-fest that you really don’t want to participate in.

26. At least just change into those workout clothes and go somewhere. Anywhere. Sometimes just getting ready is the biggest part of the battle. Don’t even think about it–do it mindlessly so you just do it.

27. “Self-actualization feels like glowing in the dark” (this is my fave, straight from Yoovie herself).

28. Think about swimsuit season coming up and family vacations. Think about taking your son to the beach. Do you want to hide? Or do you want to wear a wrap off your hips and a tank with just a little skin showing?

29. Working out and catching the latest fitness news gives you something more/something interesting to talk about.

30. Hard work is the only way to guarantee real results. You are soooo worth the best end result.

31. You get to read your favorite magazines while you work out.

32. This is one of the only times you get valuable “me time” that’s worth every drop of sweat.

33. It’s more fun to do crunches with a baby sitting on your stomach than doing them alone or not doing them at all.

34. Since you’ve begun working out, your whole body image and confidence level has been boosted. That measly 1/2 hour-1 hour of working out doesn’t even compare to the worth of the positive boost!