Is It Your Mind Or Your Body?....

I’m often amazed and intrigued by the interaction between mind and body (can they really be separated?) and physical activity. We have an idea of what it is we want to do or be like, but what happens after this and what will most likely lead to your success?

Establishing some kind of routine is going to be a big help in achieving success. That is, you don’t really have to plan when you are going to fit exercise in – it’s part of your daily or weekly routine so it’s very likely to be achieved. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for example, you know you are going to be fitting in some specific exercise at a certain time.

If you have this mentally or physically in your diary, successfully completing such sessions becomes far more likely than starting with a blank canvas each week for when you are going to do what. Similarly just waiting until you feel like being active may not work out.

Another aspect that is going to set you up for success is your sense of commitment to the task at hand. How often do you communicate a lack of commitment to something (either to yourself or to others) with words like ‘try’, ‘do what I can’, ‘see what happens’ etc? If you imagine you are connected to a positive result by a chain, how many little things like this create weak links in that chain?

You have no doubt had times in your life when you have been extremely determined and resolved to do something no matter what. You need to vividly remember such feelings when it comes to considering your task at hand; otherwise when the going gets tough, your mind is likely to give up well before your body.

Having this incredibly strong ‘I’ll stop at nothing’ attitude doesn’t mean you then throw caution to the wind, but it does mean the little things will not get in your way.

Think about it, almost all of the same excuses are going to affect those who succeed and those who fail, but which group listens to the excuses and changes their plans? Which group counters or ignores the excuses and carries on?

How about you? If you stop for a moment to consider something you really want to achieve and further consider what you think will be necessary to achieve it. Now notice what barriers or get out clauses jump out! Is it a couple or a couple of hundred!?

Some people have so many reasons why they are likely to miss the mark on what they want to achieve that they are basically set up for failure. Is it past injuries, past results, demands of family or work, your age, the weather, the exercise, the type of food, money, equipment etc, etc.

If the last part of this article sounded a little negative then I want to assure you it’s not meant to be. Because the act of hearing an excuse, recognising it for what it is and moving forward is extremely positive. Every time you strengthen that muscle of commitment, resolve and determination it is a great thing.

Set yourself up for success with the routine, commitment, and the resolve to keep your mind on your side. We all have moments of doubt or negativity. When you start to listen to such thoughts and what you choose to do next is your choice - how exciting is that!


Come along to the new drop in Saturday Circuit class - http://www.sussexsaturdayfitness.co.uk

Next 4 week fitness bootcamp - June 22nd - http://www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk

Steve