The other day over breakfast, I was lamenting with David about my planned workout. I’ve been trying to improve my physical fitness after gaining the “Covid 19”, but the truth is that I wasn’t looking forward to the actual exercise part at all.
“I wish I craved working out like Jill does.”
Jill is a good friend of ours who loves to work out. She will often text me an invitation to join her for a yoga class, night time spin class or some kind of bootcamp situation.
It appears that she associates exercise as a good time and a helpful way to connect with people. And this is fascinating to me, because I absolutely do not.
Having struggled with my weight as a teen, I associated exercise as an unwelcoming activity that’s only fun for fit people who already fit in. To me, I felt like the nerdy kid in the gym scene of any 1980’s teen movie.
Nonetheless, I got on the bike for my committed spin class. As I did so, I was feeling envious of people who yearn for and crave this form of self-care. It’s not my strength, and staying healthy would be so much easier if I could learn to enjoy exercise.
But what is my strength is the ability to look at any situation from the perspective of a life coach. I tried visualizing mint green, which is a powerful aura color that helps us move energy and manifest quickly.
Then I thought to myself, what would I say to help a client in this moment?
Immediately a question popped into my head.
“Well, what do you get out of it?”
The answer was also pretty fast and simple. I love the feeling after.
In fact I crave the feeling after. Exercising brings not only a sense of accomplishment, but a rush of endorphins helps to release stress. And I love knowing that I’m doing something healthy for myself.
I immediately felt a shift in my energy. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the exercise more, but I definitely felt a growing appreciation for it. And that realization made the whole experience better. I started to think, what other activities I dislike but ultimately enjoy the feeling after? A list began forming in my mind:
- Doing my taxes
- Cleaning the house
- Folding laundry
- Getting a cleaning at the dentist
The list became quite long. This was a deceptively simple yet interesting concept to me. A mere shift in perspective helped me move energy in an area that isn’t quite my favorite to do, but brings me joy in other ways.
As an experiment, I decided to stop saying that “I don’t want to work out” or complain about a mundane task. Instead I started to just focus on the result by saying things like:
I am really craving that post workout feeling!
I’m so excited to feel more organized.
This disciplined self-care routine is going to make me feel so good.
And it’s really helping!
If there is an area you’re struggling with, I encourage you to just focus on the results you want, and see if a shift in perspective gives you a needed energy boost.
So now it’s your turn! Let me know in the comments, what’s a good feeling that you’d love to experience AFTER you move through the stagnant energy?
Much Love,
8 Responses
So simple and yet so life changing! Sometimes it takes someone else to nudge us into thinking differently. Love this so much Dougall, as I, like you, don’t like any of those tasks either but love the feeling of satisfaction & accomplishment of having done them afterward. Thank you for sharing. Will definitely be practicing this.
I used to feel the same as you did about exercising and I knew it always took me 3 weeks to turn it into a habit I loved because at that point it did make me feel better. But, what I did within those 3 weeks when my ego or subconscious mind would start the chatter “To leave, ” instead I would immediately say, in my mind, to myself, “Work, work, work” until the chatterbox disappeared. This was a routine the first 3-weeks usually while I was in an exercise class in the back of the room.
A few days ago, I started talking to myself about tapping into the feeling of enjoying being more organized. It is quite refreshing to read your post, which confirms once again that the Law of Attraction is at it again: benefiting, guiding and reconfirming our thoughts and desires!
One of my strengths and most valuable coping tool has ben my ability to “reframe” my self talk . For example when I was resenting household tasks I reminded myself that a new idy clean hous made me feel good and doing the necessary tasks was my currency that i now say is therapy! Reminders are always good.
I just recently spent about 2 days de-cluttering and re-organizing my closet – I donated 4 bags of clothes! I wasn’t excited to start on the first day but I surprised myself that I was looking forward to the second day and now that it’s finished I keep peeking into my closet and I love it! Also I feel proud of myself and a job well done!
Wow! I can so relate to this blog! I love the feeling I get when my workout is finished, but I will procrastinate and dread it all day long! I am going to use your affirmations to shift my perspective. Also will help with the clutter clearing! Thanks Dougall!!
I’m retired and live with my daughter and her family. My daughter and son-in-law both work while I stay home and take care of my grandson. I also take care of the house cleaning and most meals for them. There are days when my aching body just doesn’t want to move, but I think about how it helps my family to take care of things at home. I was a single mom for many years, without any help. I was always exhausted, and felt like a “bad mom” because I was too tired to spend much time with my kids after work. Knowing I help relieve that kind of stress for my daughter and her family gives me the motivation to keep going. They are always so appreciative.
I like the idea of how do I feel afterwards perspective.