I Will Start Tomorrow: Overcoming Mental Barriers to Exercise
Written by Megan C. Swanson, M.Ed. PsyD (ABD)
Megan Swanson is a clinical and sports psychology doctoral candidate, former university professor, avid runner and believer in the power of the connection between the mind and body. She is from Bozeman, Montana and currently lives in London with her family.
We all know that feeling of going to bed at night with the intention of waking early, lacing up our shoes and hitting the road for a crisp jog…and then actually waking up with zero motivation to follow through. What follows is often a dreadful guilt for not going and the promise to go tomorrow.
Why is that? How can we go to bed so full of motivation and intention and wake up with so little of both?
Recognising what is good for our minds and bodies is the easiest part of the journey. We all likely know that when we exercise consistently; we feel better emotionally, physically and mentally. But there are barriers that exist as serious strongholds keeping us from doing those things. So, how we do we overcome these very real barriers that keep us from adhering to exercise programs?
Set an intention
Make sure you set an intention that matches your individual abilities & needs. What this means is that you need to find exercise that you enjoy doing and is feasible for you based on your schedule, fitness level, and budget. It might be that your intention is simply to move more, and be more physically active. This could mean that you walk to the train instead of taking the bus, you take the stairs at work, you learn to do “the floss” with your kids… For others, the intention might be more exercise focused like attending 5 yoga classes this month, doing 20 press-ups every morning, or training for a race. Write these things down and track your progress! This is where you start creating a plan for yourself and setting goals.
Find your motivation
Where do we find motivation? How do we get motivated? First and foremost, we need to determine the “why?”. Ask yourself, “why do I exercise?” (or aspire to). There are a lot of different motivations for exercise; overall fitness, health and wellness, mental clarity, to feel better, to look better…and so on. Why do YOU want to exercise? Are your motivators intrinsic or extrinsic; or both? Meaning, are you doing it because it brings you joy or because you want to be recognised as doing it; or both! Identify what motivates you, and try to understand why it does. Are you motivated for the right reasons?
Embrace your fears
A lot of people fear others’ judgement. But guess what, we all have to start somewhere and…You are doing it! Think about how you yourself would judge someone; anyone who was jogging down the street, out for a bike ride, at the gym… would you judge them negatively or would you embrace them doing something for themselves to improve? Likely the latter, and that’s what others would do with you. It doesn’t matter what you wear or how you look; it’s all about how you feel. And with each time you successfully check that fear you’ll be one step closer to long-term relationship with movement.
Addressing Negative Self-Talk
We are own worst critics. Part of adhering to an exercise program is figuring out how to change our patterns of behaviour. Track when you experience automatic negative thoughts about yourself and challenge those thoughts, then replace them with something positive. For example you might think, “I’m a failure”. Replace that with, “I will be successful”. Eventually, you’ll work to replace some of that automatic negative thinking that’s getting in your way.
Hold yourself accountable
One of the best ways to do this is to verbalise your goals. You don’t have to be perfect and no one expects you to be. This is YOUR journey!!! But if you are embarking on an exercise program to positively change your life; you need help! And that can comes in many forms. For example, Maybe you are a teacher and you have set a goal to do a lifting competition. Share that with your students. Plan a math problem around it, have a chart on the wall that follows your training. This can help others to see that you are real, you have progress, and setbacks and all in all… you move forward! Not only are you motivating others; you have a visual and purposeful way to stay on track.
And last but not least… give yourself grace. Be kind to yourself. If you don’t put those shoes on today and go for that jog; reassess, set new intentions, revaluate you’re motivations, reach out to a friend, do what you need to do for you, and whatever you do; know that, You. Are. Enough.
