There are few things more powerful than the mind’s ability to control the body.

Sick people who continue life as if they aren’t really ill sometimes recover faster than those who accept their illness. A batter in a hitting slump approaches the plate differently than he would if he had a streak going. These examples demonstrate the mind’s ability to reign over the body. And while the mind can help us succeed, it can also cause us to fail.

With spring starting, the goal to exercise is prominent, but the mind can be a stepping stone.

As Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame baseball player, once said, “Ninety percent of baseball is mental. The other half is physical.” If we correct the mathematics a bit, the same can be said about making the decision to start exercising.

I’ve recently started running for the first time since high school. The mental demons that must be overcome when making the decision to exercise significantly outweigh any physical problems that an average person will face on the running path. So, what were these mental demons that prevented me from running? They’re likely the same ones that many face when they want to start exercising.

“I really should start [exercising], but it is hard to find the motivation to,” said Ryan Wetters, junior economics major.

One demon to overcome is the belief that schedules are too overloaded for daily exercise. I work 20 hours a week, I have 15 hours of classes and I have homework. I simply assumed that I could not fit running into my schedule.

Once I forced myself to go out and run, I found that I was mistaken. Surprisingly, much of my workload seems more manageable than it did before I started running.

“That is just an excuse; people still have free time to do things during the day. Exercise doesn’t take that long,” said Aaron Leonard, sophomore physical education major.

The other major mental demon is fear of the path to getting in shape. It can be arduous and painful. However, I grossly overestimated this aspect and, after only three days of running, my muscle soreness began to subside and I was no longer winded on runs. There’s no reason to stop before you’ve started because the mental demons and physical exhaustion share a common enemy: the power of your mental state. The will is over the mind and the body, and it’s on your side.

Any moderately healthy person can start if they just battle the mental demons that tell them they can’t. Now that the semester is winding down and summer will be here in fewer than two weeks, what is there to wait for?

If I can do it, you can, too. I know you won’t regret it.