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Meeting, hanging out, and working out with athletic people who have extremely active lifestyles can be very motivating. You can almost ride on their energy because they have so much of it. If this has happened to you and you’re revved up and ready for an active lifestyle, then get your fabulous human body moving. Help it to do all those wonderful leaping, jumping, walking, running, crouching, and dancing movements it was born to do. Go on and enjoy, no need to read on.
If, however, you find that the influence of athletic people actually decreases your motivation then this article is for you, especially if your mind throws up a wall of mental rejection whenever you think of getting from sedentary to fit. “Go for a walk? Mmmm… What’s on the tele?”
Here are some ways to get motivated and to avoid the negative internal voice that says you’ll never be able to become fit, ride a bike ten miles, cross-country ski, or run a marathon.
• Ignore the voice. It is that simple. Just block it out. It’s not talking. Try thinking about a positive image. Walking under the illuminating sun works very well.
• Break the big picture down into smaller chunks. You’re not going to the Olympics tomorrow, but you’re heading out for a walk today.
• Join a team. You’ll get to learn or polish your athletics skills in a group of like-minded people. Camaraderie can do wonders for moral.
• Take a how-to class. Many recreational groups offer classes for kids and adults. If your group of choice doesn’t, ask if they will.
• Exercise with a motivated friend that’s at the same level of fitness you are. It can be no fun if your exercise buddy is much faster or slower than you.
• Give a family member a hundred bucks. Tell this person that if you exercise five days a week for the entire month (or four, or three days whatever is do-able for you) you get your money back. But, if you don’t do the exercise, the family member sends the money off to one of your must unfavourite organizations, instead.
• Try exercise of a different kind. There’s this stereotype that you have to jog and lift weights to be fit. That is so last century. Try yoga, bellydancing, tai chi, dancing, martial arts, aqua exercises, stretch bands, and exercise balls.
• Appreciate yourself when you are active. Treat yourself to a soak with salts or bubble bath, buy yourself a new athletic shoes or clothing, cherish the radiant glow your skin achieves with activity, and relish your greater lung capacity by breathing deeply often.
• Give yourself three months. It takes time for a new activity to become routine. It’s too easy to stop being active if it’s not yet part of your lifestyle.
• Realize that physical activity is not a realm owned by the jocks and athletes. When you’re around long enough, you’ll find those who seemed to dominate the realm in high school often let it all go when they focused on their careers. They gave up the realm for potato chips. So never ever think exercise is only for athletes. It’s just not true.
• Get the whole family active. An active family is a great supportive network.
• Fit appearance. Think of how great you’ll look in about six months, then get active.
Whether it’s totally ignoring that negative internal voice or rising to the challenge of getting your hundred bucks back that works, it’s all good. Just try the strategies that appeal to you most and keep at it, because success occurs with persistence.
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Photo Credit: Emiliano Spada
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