I’m starting to love cooking again… exactly 12.8 years after I fell out of love with it.
For those following along at home – yes, my oldest child is 12.8 years old. And that is no coincidence.
I’ve always enjoyed cooking.
Deciding what to make. Getting the ingredients. Taking my time to prepare it. Sharing it with people I love.
But having kids really ruined it for a while.
It stopped being about the joy of preparing something nourishing.
It became: get dinner on the table. Fast.
And the “success” of the meal was measured entirely by whether they ate it… or flat-out refused it.
And I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, but a 100% hit rate, where everyone loves the same meal, is a rare event in our house.
So cooking started to feel like constant effort, with very little return.
But lately, I’ve found myself enjoying the process again.
I’ll cook something I feel like eating.
I’ll take my time.
I’ll put music or a podcast on.
And I’m far less concerned about who likes it or not.
Basically, I’ve stopped focusing on the final outcome, and started enjoying the process again.
And I think there’s a big lesson in this, especially if you’re feeling pretty underwhelmed about the idea of exercising regularly.
I’m a big believer in helping women find their unique why for movement.
Whether it’s keeping up with kids or grandkids, ageing well, or reducing pain; long-term goals often point to long-term enjoyment of life.
But to be honest, sometimes I think you just need to let all the long-term, outcome-focused thinking go.
Because when you find a way to enjoy exercise right now:
In the moment.
Without pressure.
Without perfection.
It gets so much easier to show up consistently.
That might mean
👉🏻 doing something you genuinely love (like dancing or team sports), or
👉🏻 anchoring into how you feel during or after (more energy, calm or clarity)
Or maybe even tricking your brain into it with “temptation bundling”; like saving your favourite podcast or show for only when you’re exercising.
The point is: we all hit blocks.
But the reason we stop (and the way we come back) is rarely about motivation.
So, if you’ve hit a block when it comes to exercise lately, maybe this question is for you:
What would it take to bring a little joy back in?
What would it look like if you enjoyed the process?
I’d love to hear.