Is the thought of doing some exercise the most uninteresting thing for you right now? Do you associate negative thoughts with your health and fitness? Do you feel like it is more of a chore rather than something we can enjoy?
A lot of us suffer with this way of thinking. We find we have to motivate ourselves every time we go to exercise. We know the benefits, but we just don’t want to do the work because ultimately, we’re not enjoying the process. It’s because of this that we ultimately struggle to incorporate healthy routines and behaviours into our lives. The benefits are very palpable, but the appeal is missing. This is because we are relying on motivation to get through this aspect of our lives. Motivation doesn’t last forever which means adhering to a plan in the long term can be extremely difficult. As soon as we lose that motivation, we stop enjoying the process. Fitness and anything to do with exercise just feel like a chore.
A COMMON MISCONCEPTION
There is also a common misconception that those who prioritize their own health and fitness are not necessarily “living”. They spend zero time doing anything “enjoyable” because they’re constantly obsessing over every minute detail when it comes to their fitness and health. This is untrue. Yet, we still think that if we reduce our alcohol consumption, we are all of the sudden adopting a “boring” lifestyle. One that is centred on health and fitness rather than the pure enjoyment of life. A lifestyle where you spend every minute of every day working out and counting your calories. This is a massive misconception. Just because health and fitness is important to us, it does not mean that all we do every day is obsess over it. That in itself would be an unhealthy relationship with fitness as a whole. We can still enjoy our lives while taking care of our health and fitness. This misconception is simply an excuse that we fabricate in order to convince ourselves that fitness just doesn’t work for us. We use the excuse to dishearten us from taking further action towards our goals. This is because we then believe it’s not worth it. We don’t enjoy the process plus I’ll have to completely reconstruct my life in order to look better. However, we can enjoy it and we don’t have to completely change many things to make it a sustainable lifestyle.
We need to and we can actually enjoy the process. When we do enjoy our journey, we find it much easier to maintain that consistency and stick to it for a long period of time. A lot of us workout to get that emotional high. The feeling that we did something. So, we put ourselves under a lot of stress to do so. We then struggle to maintain this life as every time we workout we exhaust ourselves. This just increases our levels of boredom and we begin to dread working out and eating healthy. If you aren’t making this journey enjoyable, or at least maintainable, then you’re setting yourself up for failure.
HOW DO WE MAKE FITNESS ENJOYABLE?
There are so many ways we can begin to enjoy the process. So much variation exists that we can adjust our exercise and nutrition plans to suit absolutely any situation and any personality. So, how do we go about enjoying our lives while also enjoying our health and fitness?
1. Have A Clear Vision For The Future
We need to set realistic goals and have a clear vision of where we want to go and where we want to progress to. If we set unrealistic goals and demand a lot from ourselves, a lot of the time we will only find ourselves disappointed. If we approach things with unrealistic and highly demanding expectations, we will become disheartened when we don’t meet those expectations. Change takes time. So, don’t expect results to happen overnight. Do this and you’re setting yourself up for a more enjoyable process.2. Don’t Compare Yourself To Others
We will never find anything remotely enjoyable in comparing ourselves to others. Our only competition is the person we were yesterday. Comparing yourself to anyone is automatically going to make any experience a negative one. Don’t focus on anyone else except yourself and be proud of any progress you see no matter how small that may be.3. Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself
The truth is you’re going to have some good days and you’re going to have some bad days. It’s very easy for us to focus on the negative things at all times and feel guilty when we don’t workout or spend a day eating more than what we planned. Life gets in the way sometimes and there’s not much we can do about that. That’s why it’s fundamental that we create and develop sustainable, healthy habits that allow us to get back on track whenever we need to. If you didn’t have the best workout, always remember that something will always be better than nothing. Also remember that sometimes you just won’t be able to perform to the level you expect. Consistency is key. One bad day is just one bad day. Don’t dwell on it and feel free to let go sometimes. Rewarding yourself will increase the level of enjoyment you extract from fitness.4. Mix Things Up
Even after you find a workout you enjoy, it’s still important to regularly change things up in order to ensure you keep liking it. Doing the same thing over and over again will only make things feel more monotonous. People who incorporate greater levels of variety into their fitness and health, find the process much more enjoyable.I guarantee that if you take these tips into consideration, you will begin to enjoy the process a lot more. We need to understand that we don’t have to work out, we get to work out. We have the opportunity to improve our health and fitness. So why not make that process as enjoyable as possible because the more enjoyable it is, the easier it is to maintain in the long run.
