You started out well, you had a plan in place, a vision of where you were going. But then suddenly, it seems, you hit a wall of resistance. Why? Getty Images
You started out well, you had a plan in place, a vision of where you were going. But then suddenly, it seems, you hit a wall of resistance. Why? Getty Images
Have you hit that workout wall?
You know, the one that stops us dead in our tracks, sucking away every little bit of motivation we may have left?
Why does this happen? What causes this dreadful blockage to surface that steals our time and energy? How did a once-positive journey towards health and fitness turn into a "terrible, sometimes dreaded" task?
When you began your journey, you had a plan in place, a vision of where you were going. Your intentions were aligned with it and your focus and excitement was high, driving positive motivation, inspiration and actions.
Why has this dense shadow crossed your path, weakening your resolve to reach your goal, if not killing it altogether?
A Harvard study in which housekeepers were told their tasks were classified as exercise proved that how you "think about" something is what it becomes to you. Getty Images
It's all about how we "see" things, what our inner eyes relay to our emotions, which in turn guide our behaviour.
In this case, your perception about exercising shifted from a positive feeling to a negative one and this gave rise to resistance.
It's very hard to keep any sort of motivation going because motivation is directly tied to how we feel. When we don't emotionally feel good about something, we don't want to do it and resistance is the result.
When our perception about exercise shifts from a positive to a negative angle, our energy is no longer driven towards accomplishing something through the joy and love of knowing we are contributing to the health and longevity of our body.
The focus is now on negative perceptions. What used to be fun perceptually has now become "work" and this steals away our joy, excitement, motivation and positive actions.
The reality is, our thoughts about exercise and fitness greatly influence our motivation and outcome.
Pause for a moment and reflect on what is going on within when you feel "resistance" about exercising. Getty Images
This has been proven in Harvard University studies. A select group of housekeepers was educated on how physical work qualified as exercise. They were taught how the squatting, lifting, scrubbing, stair climbing and walking done during their day was beneficial to their health.
This new understanding and clarity shifted their view on work from a negative perspective/angle to seeing the positive effects of their actions. Four weeks later, this select group of housekeepers felt fitter and researchers discovered a decrease in: BMI (body mass index), blood pressure, collective body weight, body fat, and waist to hip ratio. The housekeepers in the control group who did not view their work as exercise or a positive thing didn't experience these health improvements. To them it was simply work.
So although two groups of housekeepers performed the same tasks, the ones sporting a positive perspective and who viewed their work as exercise (rather than just a work/task to be performed) enjoyed far better health benefits.
Once again, the power of the mind comes into play.
What words and titles are you assigning to your exercises? What adjectives do you use to define them in your mind? Do you associate exercise with negative connotations, such as pain and suffering?
This study proves how you think about something shapes your experience of it. It proves your thoughts do count and how you think and approach exercise matters a great deal.
If you struggle to get up and exercise properly, it's time to take a deeper look at what's causing this resistance, what is distorting your view, stealing your motivation and stalling your actions.
Pause to reflect on what is going on within when you feel resistance to exercising. Take any negative energy, even when you cannot identify the cause, and shift it to the positive. Change your view and assign new definitions. Remind yourself why you began this journey in the first place. Rediscover your passion and hold on to it.
Was it your health? Was it a goal of fitting into that sexy dress for an upcoming occasion? Maybe you simply wanted to feel fantastic.
Whatever it was, pull it up and feel the positive, driving excitement and emotion of it again.
The first step towards stellar health through exercise and fitness is the same for everyone. It's about adopting a positive mindset. Without that in place the journey becomes a struggle.
Isn't it empowering to know we have the potential for so much mind control!
