Many people have big goals but the lack the motivation to make it happen by themselves. Here, we?re talking about fitness and how you can psychologically trick yourself into exercising and actually enjoying it.
?I absolutely hate exercise and there’s no way you can get me to do it.? These were the paring words of one of my trainer friend Dylan?s clients, Amy. But Dylan convinced her to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and she started liking it.
How? By using simple psychology. According to my friend, our approach towards exercise and motivation is completely wrong. And just like any other fitness fan, I asked him about the right way to approach the fitness regime I want to execute. That?s when he gave me these tricks. Since then, I haven’t had to force myself to exercise, because it now comes naturally.
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1. Develop An Internal Locus Of Control
Most regular exercisers and people who stick to goals have an internal locus of control. They believe that they control everything that happens to them, and this is also really common trait in highly motivated individuals. So, if you have an internal locus of control, you feel like your life, health, job, relationships, and other aspects of your life are in your control no matter what. This mentality develops when you have the ability to elevate your brain power. On the contrary, people with an external locus of control feel like the economy controls their income and the big food companies control their health.
2. Practice Self-Efficacy
The main psychological factor associated with exercise adherence is what’s called self-efficacy or self-worth. Studies in psychology have found that people who stick with exercise and many other things consistently, believe not only that they are in control, but that they are effective enough at what they do. Simply put, if you believe that you can’t follow a particular training regime or you won’t see the results or you lack the willpower to consistently work out, unfortunately you?re going to prove yourself right. So the key is to keep yourself motivated enough to exercise regularly and with more intensity than yesterday.
3. Use The Snowball Effect
Having a positive snowball effect means that while exercising, you need to stay positive in your brain so that you can avoid negative thoughts. Don?t let the struggle of tough workouts take over the motivation in your mind, because it’s just the neural patterns building in your brain and you’re going to have negative self-talk. So you need to start super easy even if you start with just a minute of exercise because it will help in building the positive snowball effect in your head where you’re changing the way you psychologically view and think about the exercise which is absolutely critical. So, the bottom line is that health is all about your mindset.
Conclusion
Some of you may have heard of some of these tips before, but if this is your first time seeing them all in one place – or seeing them at all – it?s time to create the change you wish for. Hope this article helps to get on the cutting edge, not only for exercise, but for anything you?re trying to find motivation for. You have more power and capability than you think. You can do it!