Here’s how one of the most embarrassing Mondays of my life started for me:

“What did you want for breakfast?”

Because that was the third time I’d asked him that question in the last ten minutes, my son quite rightly had begun to wonder if he could just grab a bag of potato chips instead and call it a meal. Didn’t seem like dad had his act together…

Later at the gym, I began the mid-morning class with a confident, almost stentorian take on that day’s warmup. I mean, I was really cooking. These folks were lucky to have me!

Problem was, I was running them through last Monday’s warmup. Oops. Strike Two.

Well, surely I’d rebound during an athlete check-in later in the morning. When things feel hectic and cluttered in my brain, I tend to do well taking things down to a 1-1 setting. R. and I would have a great session and the day would turn around.

Except that I was fifteen minutes late to that session, which I’d scheduled myself, because somehow the tick mark at 11:30 looked like “11:45” in my daily planner. Game. Set. Match. You won, Monday!

We’ve all had days like this, of course, where it feels like we are going a million miles an hour but never truly there. It’s frustrating, confusing, and can really drag you low down.

I’m a fitness coach and a gym owner, so you might be waiting for the hook here: he’s going to tell us he’s got some special sauce for power washing cluttered brains and restoring mental clarity.

Well, I do love our coaches and our workouts, but I’m not talking about that today. Today I just want to give you three words, and then three more words:

Move around today.

You’ll feel better.

Exercise, in all its forms, is incredibly powerful tonic for your brain. Most days, today included, I’ll go further and say it’s wonderful for your spirit as well.

Doesn’t have to be jogging. Doesn’t have to be lifting. Doesn’t have to be boot camp.

Just has to be something. Give yourself that gift.

If you can do a half-hour, awesome. If you can only do ten or fifteen minutes, that’s great too.

Just get started. Move around today!

You’ll feel better.