Are you just spinning and getting nowhere?

I used to go to spin class for my workout. I hated it more than any other exercise I’ve ever done; it felt like torture. I thought I would like it because riding a bike is one of my favorite workouts. Maybe it was torture to me because it wasn’t real. I was peddling but going nowhere.  There was no reward of the wind blowing in my face or seeing the beauty of nature around me.

Irregardless, I went and there was one very important thing I had to be aware of when I did… the little red knob that allowed me to adjust the tension as I peddled.

I either hated or loved that knob. Hated when the instructor told me to turn up the tension, loved when I was told to completely release all the tension and relax. 

No one but me could turn the tension to the exact spot I needed. Only I could feel the pedals under my feet and know if I was challenging my body, pushing myself a little further than last time. I could easily fake it and, I’ll admit it, sometimes I did. The instructor would tell us to turn up the tension one more time for a final push to really challenge ourselves. I would reach for the knob turn my hand around it pretending I was increasing the tension and even grimace and grunt so people would think I was working to my limit.  Yeah, I’m a dork. It took me a while to figure out that the only one I was fooling was myself.

Really!? Why would I take the time and effort to go to spin class and pretend I was working hard when I wasn’t? Especially when I had to sit on that painfully small, hard bike seat?! Goodness why not make the most of it?

I started to think about how often do we do this to our spirits?  Our spirits need as much exercise and attention as our bodies. Are we willing to constantly look at the condition of our spirits and make adjustments so we can constantly be strengthening  and growing?  OR do we just go through the motions, stay in the same place, or maybe start to loose some strength? 

Are we spinning? Putting ourselves through torture with no gratification because it is counterfeit? Faking it for the people around us? Putting in the work but going nowhere because what we are doing ISN’T REAL? 

The only way to make it real is to reach down, grab the spiritual tension knob, and turn it. It might be painful at first because it is never fun to see where we haven’t been honest with ourselves and admit where we’ve been slacking off.

If we are just going through the motions and need to make some adjustments where do we start?  Just as we might set physical goals to become stronger or healthier we need to take inventory of our spirits. What needs strengthening?  What is missing?  What are we doing each day? Is it enough? Is it too much? Are we just checking off boxes?  What can we do to challenge ourselves, to increase our spiritual strength? Do we recognize when we need to be easy on ourselves?

What is one aspect of your spiritual health that you want to focus on adjusting? Prayer? Scripture study? Service?  What ever you do, don’t give up all together.  Don’t give up because the struggle is too much when the top of the hill is just around the corner. As you humbly pray for guidance and take action you will feel the tension release and burden lift. You will learn that the Savior has been beside you the whole time waiting for you to accept of His strength.  What you thought was painful will turn unto greater strength and joy than you could have imagined.