Fitness is easy, Discipline is hard
Fitness is easy, it is the mental aspect that people falter at. A simple Google search will provide you with a plethora of exercise routines that you can follow, some involving body weight that can be done from the comfort of one’s home all the way to routines requiring a fully packed, state of the art facility. Whatever it it, whatever logistically works for one’s life situation, there is a way to achieve fitness and health. So, why is that so many gym memberships go unused, or a routine is cut short a mere 2 weeks in?
Simply put, fitness falls short due to a lack of mental discipline. This is not something one necessarily wants to hear, especially if one has a handicap. However, a handicap is a mere limitation that must be overcome, which the mind is highly capable of doing, unless one allows their limitations to become law. For the common person the limitations they face arise from family obligations, technological pursuits, the common “I’ll start tomorrow”, or maybe even the more recent excuse, “I’ll fix my fitness and health with a pill in the future.”
That last one is the scariest of all limitations one can place on themselves because it is one that may actually be true. In the next hundred years for sure there will be technology to manipulate and heal like never before in history, but is that what we want to do? Heal and treat problems? I would like to prevent the problem altogether, not just treat it nor cure it when it manifest, because surely that treatment will not be free.
Which leads me back to fitness being a mental discipline and a matter of overcoming these limitations. Once you understand this, you can start to workout the mental landscape which will lead to your fitness goals. If you do not acknowledge the problem, or what sometimes can be worse, acknowledging the problem but being mistaken, leads to aimless and unachievable fantasies. You cannot hit a target with your eyes closed, at least, not many of us, because I will always account for the freaks of nature nuance instances.
Try out the following mental exercises and tricks to help build the discipline that is required to be healthy. What you will find is that these tips will go on to apply to other aspects of your life as well.
3 Tips for Mental Discipline
Create Daily, Achievable, Goals
Write down your daily tasks the night before, things that you have to complete, from doing your laundry or paying a bill. Create a list of 3-5 tasks and check them off as you complete them. When it comes to fitness, create the goal of walking 2,000 steps more than your daily average. Or maybe it is go to a yoga class. Whatever it is, write it down and mark it off the next day when you complete it. Psychologically the mind gets a little hit of Dopamine, the reward chemical in the body, whenever you complete and get to physically cross the task off. It is a great feeling to finish the list and EARN your relaxation time. Continuously progress the goal, and before long the daily achievements will compound into a mass month to month and year to year.
Find a Family
There is a reason that cross-fit has taken over with the eerie feel that a cult gives you. However, they have created a community that motivates its members to better themselves and a sense of belonging. It seems that in an age where we are more connected than ever we are simultaneously searching for a group to call our own, a family that supports us. Make your own family of supporters, because to take on the responsibility and accountability required to reach your health goals is most certainly greater with the aid of others. You can turn to them on the days that you are feeling drained, knowing that Jane is at the gym waiting on you at the group fitness class you attend, or maybe it is just the nightly neighborhood walk. Whatever it is, others always make it easier, as well as more enjoyable!
Buy a watch and put it down!
This may be the hardest task that I am going to ask of you, but if you have a watch perfect, if you do not, buy a superhero one from Walmart, or Amazon Drone service, either will suffice. So far so good. The next part is the tricky one. Put your phone face down on a table, and go for a walk. Mark the time. How far can you get? Do you feel the blood leave your hands as your heart rate increases? Take notice of how you are feeling and work towards improving your time. You may be surprised to find that you may be only able to make sixty seconds before sprinting back to check who liked your photo. If you can conquer this, you will be on a springboard for success in mental discipline.