The important question to ask here is, "Is there something to be gained by pushing through the hate?" While there are always alternatives, sometimes there's no substitute for sucking it up and doing it anyway. Ask yourself what it is that you truly hate about it. Chances are, what you hate is not the activity or exercise, but the potential for failure. When you just don't want to do something, it may well be because you fear, deep down, that you aren't very good at it. Being human, we go through life protecting our weaknesses. We favor our good hand when we write, we show off our "best features" in clothes, and further our knowledge in subjects we've already mastered. Little wonder, then, that when it comes to physical activity, we embrace what we know we can do and shy away from anything that might expose an ugly fissure of weakness.

Of course, hiding weakness is not the same thing as eliminating it. So avoiding an encounter with your awkward, fumbling, struggling self is ultimately futile. You'll stay comfortable, but you'll stay stuck. It's far better to expose your weakness and get stronger. Do the lunges. The worst that can happen is that your legs will be sore the next day. Take the tennis clinic. You'll swing and miss a lot, but if you keep trying, you'll improve. And Rachel, get your butt to a yoga studio. When you get really good, you can shame me into stretching.

Talk with other women about sticking with it.