For week2 of Motivate2ACTION! we had the pleasure of hearing from Leo Babauta of zenhabits as he shared some great tips on exercise motivation. But today I want to expand on my post from week1 and talk more about “finding ways to PROVE to our bodies and our minds that regular exercise is what we WANT to do.”
To do this I want to share a ‘list’ format that I used in my guest post on The Change Blog called ‘The Strongest Desire Always Wins‘. In the context of the post I was talking about how I’ve leaned to cut down on sweets. The idea behind it was that in order to go against a strong desire, you have to replace it with a stronger one. I then shared a kind of list that went through my thought process as I decided against eating the sweets. Here’s the original list:
- Eat sweets.
- Feel good and have a lot of energy.
- Feel tired and sometimes anxious.
- Loose all motivation to do anything worthwhile.
- Feel like CRAP!
- Try to eat something healthy to bring my blood sugar back to a healthy level.
- Feel a little better and say “I won’t do that again”.
- Eat sweets…
As you can see, I became aware of the unhealthy cycle that was keeping me from the level of health I wanted to maintain. And by seeing the whole process from beginning to end, I was able to foresee the negative affects and therefore had a stronger desire to NOT eat the sweets to begin with. In other words, I was able to see step #5 before I even did step #1. I stopped letting the initial craving blind me from the end results.
Following this post, Bonnie, a reader of “Motivate Thyself”, added her own list using the same format, but concerning procrastination:
- Procrastinate.
- Feel good doing what I feel like doing.
- Feel depressed and anxious about what needs to be done.
- Lose all motivation to do anything worthwhile.
- Feel like CRAP!
- Try to reorganize to bring goals to forefront.
- Feel a little better and say “I won’t do that again”.
- Procrastinate…
After reading her version I was inspired by the flexibility of this list idea and decided to make a ‘list’ about the act of NOT exercising:
- Decide NOT to exercise.
- Feel good doing what I feel like doing.
- Feel tired and kind of lazy for not exercising.
- Lose all motivation to do anything worthwhile.
- Feel like CRAP!
- Try to get off my Butt and maybe go for a walk.
- Feel a little better and say “I won’t do that again”.
- Decide NOT to exercise…
The point is that we need to convince ourselves that we will be happier and all around better off if we exercise. We need to create a stronger desire TO exercise than the one we have pulling us away from this healthy activity. By going through the cycle of NOT exercising before you actually come to the fork in the road (“Do I exercise or do I NOT exercise?”), you will be better prepared to make the right decision.
Feel free to create your OWN list and share it with us.
If this list isn’t quite your thought process or you have an idea for one that would cover a different area/habit, please share it with us so we can all benefit from it. Bonnie’s version has been quite helpful for me when I struggle with procrastination and I’d love to see what you guys can come up with.
I just spent 5 minutes trying to come up with a list that matched your format to prove the following point, but couldn’t do it so I’ll just make my point =-)
I feel like even making the leap to start excercising isn’t enough. Millions of people make this their New Years resolution and I see the amount of people at my gym spike during the month or two following. Then, the numbers dwindle. The point is, the biggest challenge is STICKING to the routine and the way to do that is to have a PLAN, and then switch up that plan every few months. Make it exciting and new so you’ll keep it up. Also, try to make yourself accountable by tracking your progress (weighing yourself, taking measurments, taking pictures) and share those results with friends. Peer pressureis a sure way to keep yourself motivated.
I thought of a list!
1. Decide to make a list in Eric’s format.
2. Feel good having an idea for the list.
3. Feel frsutrated after several non-sensical attempts.
4. Loose all motivation to make a list.
5. Feel like CRAP!
6. Try to make my point without using a list.
7. Feel a little better and say “I won’t try making a list again”.
8. Decide to make a list in Eric’s format.
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@Matt: First of all, love the list!
I agree with your point 100%, but the point of the list is to help you KEEP exercising more than just START exercising. Talking yourself out of things like exercising is a common bad habit for most people. The list idea is just a way to help you stop giving into that little voice in your head.