It’s no secret that exercise has been known to lift our spirits and put us in a better mood. We wrote an earlier article about the connection between happiness and exercise. But even if we truly believe that exercise will make us healthier and happier, we don’t always have an easy time jumping in and getting that workout done. We hear others discuss “crushing goals” with a fist pumping exuberance, but we just don’t get it. Instead we workout and we feel exhausted, hot, annoyed and often defeated. This is hardly going to motivate us to do another workout tomorrow.
There’s scientific proof that some of us are born with an inherent genetic opposition to exercise. But, for most disliking exercise is linked to our own triggers associated with how we see ourselves exercising. So self confidence comes into play which can thwart the motivation to participate. For others, humiliation endured as an overweight child struggling through gym class can truly affect our decision not to workout.
So here are two ways to get us inspired to get back to daily exercise:
1. Huffing and puffing will be less miserable if we keep our eyes on the prize by swapping low level thoughts like, ‘I hate sweating’ to something positive like ‘I’m improving my cardiovascular health’. This can move us out of the negative feelings associated with exercise into positive results which definitely boost our overall motivation.
2. Setting small goals such as deciding to complete one full class once a week without quitting can help to change habits without making lofty goals that are difficult to stick to. Notice how great it feels to complete the task. Write it down so we can look at it to remind ourselves how good it feels to follow through with action.
With just a little effort and planning we can definitely improve our relationship to exercise from Hate to love. Well, maybe not love but most certainly like.
