Some people look forward to going to the gym. Some people VOLUNTARILY go more than once a day! Some people see exercise as the highlight of their day. SOME people even feel sexy in their workout gear! But these people are a minority.
MOST people dread and fear the gym and exercise in general. Most people buy a membership and go approximately 5 times before never setting foot over the threshold again. Most people look at exercise as a chore, something which makes them feel clumsy and inadequate, something painful. For most people, EXERCISE SUCKS.
I can speak on behalf of both these groups, having spent my entire adult life, prior to about 2 years ago, fat and unfit, yet now I love the feeling exercise gives me and have even changed my career from IT Professional to Personal Trainer and Life Coach.
So - what is the main difference between these two types of people? Is it fitness levels? Body shape? Background? Location? It's actually none of these things. It comes down to something very simple: MINDSET. The way you perceive exercise is the way you will experience it. This is true throughout life in general. One of the major principles of Life Coaching is that "What you focus on is what you get, almost to the exclusion of everything else."
Carl Jung believed that we can't see anything outside of us that isn't us - meaning that we don't see things as they are, but as we are. We filter the external world through the lens of our personality. Two people can look upon the same world and see it completely differently, based on who they are, what they look for, what they believe and what they expect to find.
If we focus on something and it causes a reaction of fear within us, this prevents us being able to experience a different reaction - such as appreciation or excitement. The two emotions are processed in different parts of our brain.
What does this mean for you and your approach to exercise? It means the solution is to focus on your thinking and feeling - tap into what it is about exercise that you can enjoy and appreciate, and the fear will fade. Focus on the many and massive positive outcomes.
COMMON FEAR REACTIONS TO THE PROSPECT OF EXERCISE
- Everyone at the gym is thin and fit
Those folk at the gym who actually are thin and fit, are thin and fit because they go to the gym. But actually the majority are somewhere along the way on their own personal fitness and/or weight loss journey - people of all shapes and sizes go to the gym, and all should be admired and respected equally for their efforts. We can't know anyone's story, in the same way that no one can know ours. We should withhold judgement as much for the thin and fit as we do for the overweight.
How will you know when you're ready? This is a masterful procrastination technique which in most cases prevents you ever moving forward because you will
never feel ready. The only way to break this cycle is to take action: join the gym, or go to the gym you joined months ago and are throwing money away on by not going, or join a sports team, or start walking with a friend. Whatever you do, you'll burn a lot more calories taking action than you do running the old self-talk patterns about not being ready.
No one will laugh at you. Everyone started somewhere. And besides, as a wise man once said: "what other people think of us is none of our business'. Worrying about the opinion of others is exhausting and self-defeating and what you really mean here is that you don't think you are good enough. Low self-esteem is a huge component of most weight and fitness issues and needs to be addressed first, before worrying about the number on the scales. Ironically the more you exercise, the better your self-esteem gets...
- I can't exercise until I lose weight
Einstein's definition of insanity was to continue doing the same thing but expecting a different result. Accept that weight loss is not going to happen unless you change your lifestyle and get moving. Every step you take, literally and metaphorically, becomes easier.
I used this one for years. It was perfect! I could let myself off the hook because 'I'm Going To Exercise Tomorrow'. Tomorrow will be a new start. Of course - tomorrow never comes, because tomorrow you will tell yourself the same thing. And the next day. And the next. This is called procrastination, and I was a master of it. As soon as you notice you are telling yourself the 'tomorrow' story - make the choice to stop the story and do something different. You will feel so amazing - not just from the post-exercise high, but because when you take control of your destiny in this way, you come away experiencing an awesome sensation of empowerment.
So why does exercise suck? The truth is - it doesn't. Exercise is fabulous and the way we see it and feel about it is, as with everything in life, simply a state of mind that we choose.
