Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
How many times have we said to ourselves “UGH I don’t want to work out but I know I’ll feel great afterwards”? I feel like most of us can easily relate to this feeling of perpetual dread, which is always quickly followed up with blissful endorphins. The question is, how can we get rid of that pre-workout drama that our brains attempt to place upon us?
You vs. Your Brain
Clearly this doesn’t seem like a fair match up. Yes, our brains are a part of us, but sometimes we have to be a little more intentional with it! Have you ever attempted to convince a significant other or friend to do something by making them think it was their idea first? Well, that is basically how we have to approach our good ol’ noggin from time to time. The best way to go about this is by creating a habit! It has been scientifically proven that after doing something for 21 days, it becomes a habit, and after 90 days, it becomes a part of your lifestyle. Now, this is all much easier said than done, but hopefully I can give you a few tools to assist you with your brain trickery.
Changing the way that you word a sentence, both in and outside your head, can make a much bigger difference than many realize. Instead of saying “I have to go workout,” you can change this to “I GET to go PowerGLOW!” Keep in mind that your body does so much for you! Exercise is a celebration of all that your body can do and all that it does for you on a daily basis! So thinking of it from the perspective of being grateful, rather than punishment, can be a game changer.
I’ve found that listening to Podcasts has been a key piece of changing my mindset, and I must give credit where it’s due for this next one. If you haven’t listened to Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” Podcast, I highly recommend it. One thing that really stuck with me in one episode was the idea that we overvalue “before” moments and undervalue “after” moments. As humans, we do this with food, exercise, relationships, activities, etc. For instance, let’s say that you scheduled a time to go out with a friend, but then two hours before you start feeling like you don’t want to go because you have to do your hair and make up, and picking out an outfit feels impossible, and you don’t want to spend money on an Uber… but then you go. You have a great time, you socialize and it was a fantastic time to reconnect with your friend. Afterwards you’re feeling fulfilled, you still look great (and you have the pics to prove it) and you’re already looking forward to the next time you get to hang out. THAT is a prime example of this value imbalance that many of us tend to struggle with. Just being aware of this, catching ourselves when we are thinking this way, and remembering the positives of the “after” can be HUGE when impacting our habits. Remind yourself of all of the serotonin that exercise can bring and how you’ll feel post-workout.
We all have endless reasons for exercising ranging from overall physical and mental health to community or even entertainment. At the end of the day, remembering your “why” can be the biggest motivator. Why do you exercise? Why do you come to that 6am BodyAttack class at GLOW? Why did you join GLOW?? Every time those negative thoughts of discouragement creep in, remember how big your “why” is compared to those inconsistent and unreliable thoughts. You’ll realize pretty quickly how insignificant those feelings are within the grand scheme of life.
Changing your mindset will take time and resilience, but you never know what could happen… it might end up changing your life.
- KJ
Barre, PowerGLOW, & CenterStage Instructor
