You know the heart symbol that people do by putting there two fore fingers together in a M shape………

And then making a triangle below with their thumbs?

That people might make towards each other, or a certain situation, to show their affection?

Have you ever done one?

If you’d have asked me if I’d done one before, I’d probably say “Yes” as I assumed I had.

But I realised the other day that I hadn’t.

I was at the lights on Churchill Way.

There was one on an advert on a bus.

So I thought I’d just make one while I waited to amuse myself.

The first time I did it, the movement of my thumbs into position was really juddery.

I felt it a surprising amount in the back of my thumbs.

I realised that, whilst I’m used to flexing and extending both my thumbs and fingers………

I don’t usually extend the thumb whilst flexing the finger.

—— Apart from a thumbs up, which I’m notorious for, but is a different movement ———

Flexion in both or extension in both happens all the time.

But not so much opposite ways.

After a couple it became super easy.

Barely an inconvenience (points for anyone who gets that reference).

The actual task wasn’t hard.

It was just I wasn’t used to it.

Often the way with change.

The ‘new thing’ isn’t actually any more time and effort.

It’s just we’re not used to it.

Do a ‘few reps’ and we’re soon fine with the new way.

Like changing our eating.

Sure, there are ways to eat ‘better’ that take way more time, effort and money than what you’re doing right now.

But there are also ways of eating better that take the same or less of all three of those resources.

It’s just the change that’s a bit harder.

It’s super easy to make the default choice.

Especially when we’re in a rush.

Which we always seem to be.

Remembering that the other choices are the equivalent of making that heart symbol is powerful.

A bit ‘different’ and takes some conscious thought to begin with.

Soon becomes no harder to actually do.

But, only if we do it.

———— Most of the things we do as part of our programme take little to no time. Check www.myrise.co.uk/apply to get more info or www.myrise.co.uk/join to get cracking ————-

Much love,

Jon ‘My kids laugh at me because I can’t do that new TikTok trick of keeping your eyes focussed on your moving fingers’ Hall

P.S. Just realised the happy coincidence of scheduling a blog about making the heart shape for the day before Valentine’s Day.

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RISE in Macclesfield was established in 2012 and specialise in Group Personal Training weight loss programmes for those that don’t like the gym and find diets boring and restrictive!

Jon Hall
Jon Hall

When not helping people to transform their lives and bodies, Jon can usually be found either playing with his kids or taxi-ing them around. If you'd like to find out more about what we do at RISE then enter your details in the box to the right or bottom of this page or at myrise.co.uk - this is the same way every single one of the hundreds who've described this as "one of the best decisions I've ever made" took their first step.