The other day, Courtney and I both had a break in our schedule and decided to jump into a workout at the same time. At one point, we both found ourselves sitting on benches, catching our breath. Without saying a word, we looked at each other and gave that classic head shake—the one that says, “Why are we doing this again?”
And then I asked the question I’ve asked before—once to Peter, now to Courtney:
“If you could take a pill that gave you all the benefits of exercise—strength, mobility, cardiovascular fitness, endurance, weight management—would you still work out?”
Courtney thought for a second and said, “Probably, yeah. I think I’d still do it for the mental side. It helps manage stress. And honestly, I don’t really have any other hobbies.”
Fair point. That became part of our conversation too: If we weren’t doing this… what would we be doing?
I said I wasn’t sure. Exercise, for me, is something I do because I understand its value, and sometimes I even enjoy it—but if a pill could give me all the results without the work? I don’t know. I think I might take the pill.
Then again, I also admitted, “I have nothing else to do.” It’s become my default use of time. And I think Courtney and I both agreed on this one—if the time opened up, we’d just fill it with something else. There’s even a principle that speaks to this: Parkinson’s Law says that any available space or time will eventually get filled.
So maybe we’d stop exercising… or maybe we’d find ourselves doing it anyway, because it gives us something deeper than results.
If you could take a pill that delivered every health benefit of training—muscle, mobility, metabolism, heart health, stress relief, body composition, mental clarity—would you take it?
And if you did…
Would you still work out?
This isn’t a trick question. It’s an invitation to reflect.
Because when you strip away the outcome, you start to uncover the real reasons you do what you do.
For some, it’s stress relief.
For others, it’s routine.
For many, it’s the joy of showing up, sweating it out, and walking away better than when you walked in.
And if that’s you, then no pill in the world could replace it.
Think about it. Ask your spouse. Ask your friends. Ask your kids. Would they still move their body if a pill could do the work?
Better yet—ask yourself.
And then tell us your answer.
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