Five Mindset Shifts To Make About Exercise

It’s no secret how I feel about exercise.

It exponentially affects the quality of my life. In a good way.

And when I hear women talking about how frustrated/overwhelmed/tired/inefficient/unproductive/whatever they are, the first thing I want to know is, do you exercise regularly?

As far as I’m concerned, exercise is as much a non-negotiable as sleep, food, and brushing your teeth.

So how do you get to that point if you aren’t currently there?

How do you shift your mindset from not having the time or the motivation or the need to exercise to moving your ass consistently every day?

Well, you can start with these 5 things:

1) Exercise is not a simply something you do to lose weight.

A little while back I saw someone share a post on Facebook.

She had lost a bunch of weight — like 50 pounds.

And then she boasted, “And I haven’t exercised in over four months.”

YIKES.

Exercise isn’t linked solely to weight loss. Obviously. But if that’s the only reason you can think of to move your butt, then it doesn’t really matter how thin you are.

Eventually the absence of exercise in your life will catch up to you.

2. Exercise is not just for your body.

Your brain benefits from exercise as much as the rest of your body.

It’s the most effective natural antidepressant out there.

When you are working out you aren’t just making your body stronger. You are making your brain stronger, too.

3. It has nothing to do with motivation.

So many people cite lack of motivation as a reason for not exercising, but the truth of the matter is that nobody is motivated all the time.

Or even most of the time!

Rather than focusing on finding motivation, shift your focus to developing habits.

It’s when you have established habits that are automatic that you exercise even when you have no motivation.

Exercise becomes no different than brushing your teeth. You just do it because it’s become a habit.

4) You don’t have to start big!

So often we think we need to make massive changes. And we are anxious to see progress immediately.

But lasting changes rarely last that way! When we start out too big, we overwhelm ourselves and attempt things that are unmanageable long term.

Start with one small habit you can sustain daily. And then when that has become automatic, stack on top of it.

5) Get out of the present.

In the moment, exercise is uncomfortable. Even if you aren’t doing something strenuous, it’s not as comfortable as sitting on the couch.

When you shift your focus to how you will feel when you are done rather than obsessing about how tired/bored/sweaty/whatever you are in the moment, you remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing.

Okay, there you go.

Five mindset shifts to make about exercise.

It’s not about weight loss, it helps your brain as much as your body, focus on habits, not motivation, start small, and think about your future self.

When you make these changes in how you are thinking, you will open up the door to take better care of your whole body.