10 Ways to Motivate To Move

Motivate

Continued from our Retreat & Renew Daily Tip.

By Laurel House, QuickieChick Editor

Mind Your Body. You can actually get more out of your workout if you view it as a way to relax as opposed to an exhaustive chore. That doesn’t mean that you have to have a calm exercise session. Workout to the point of standing in a sweat-soaked shirt if you want! Just rewire your mind to view every single drop of sweat as beads of stress that you successfully pulled out of your body, leaving you more relaxed after. More than just a mind shift, you will also find that you can have a better workout with an increased calorie burn! Why? When you’re stressed you are using considerably more energy than when you’re calm. If you are relaxed during a workout, with your mind at ease, you will have more energy to dedicate to your exercise session. Which means you will actually be able to work out longer and harder, and therefore burn even more calories if you want to. Make it about your mind and your body will follow.

Notes To Self. Do you tend to go through life being stressed, rushed, spending too much money, trying to please others, drinking and eating too much? Sometimes simply tweaking your mind set can be enough to inspire yourself to workout instead of settling into a bowl of ice cream. Write down your Notes to Self- a list of everything that makes you upset, sad or annoyed- those things that trigger you to reach for food or going on online shopping sprees in hopes of finding comfort. Now decide on a healthier response for each. Literally write out a list of Notes To Self and keep it handy.

“No” is Not An Option. Before you go to sleep at night, put your sneakers at the end of your bed (along with your exercise clothes). Set your alarm 30 minutes early. Place the alarm on the other side of the room so you can’t “accidentally” hit snooze. Get up, immediately slipping on your exercise attire, and force yourself to go outside and start to walk, jog, run, skip, ride a bike I don’t care. The point is that by the time you really wake up, you will already be down the block and by that time, you may as well just workout!

Look Good Feel Good, Feel Good Look Good. Yes, a good mental image often comes from a positive physical image. When you are doing something good for your body- like exercising, you automatically start to feel better about yourself. Sure it definitely has something to do with the immediate gratification of the happy chemicals pumping through your body post workout, but long-term just the fact that you are doing something to improve yourself- physically, mentally, emotionally- will help build your self-esteem.

Have Fun Again! Take care of your body. It’s the only one you’ve got. There are a million ways to move your body that will help it feel good. Anything you can do to get your heart rate up releases chemicals in your body that just plain make you feel better. I don’t just mean feel better, I mean feel GREAT! Have fun, play, get your heart rate up! Remember what a blast you had when you were a kid and you went to the park or the playground and just ran around, played handball, hung from the monkey bars those were all serious workouts- you just didn’t think about it back then. It’s time to have fun again.

Love Yourself. Sounds lame and cheesy. Fine. But love yourself. Take care of yourself as you might take care of someone else. That includes looking good for yourself, eating well for yourself, exercising for yourself. If you love yourself and take care of yourself, you will want to do things that you know will make yourself even stronger, healthier, and more energized long-term like exercise.

Get In With The “Yes You Can” Crowd. Nothing is more of a debbie-downer than wanting and trying to better yourself and finding that those closest to you are anything but supportive, in fact, they tend to have a “you can’t” attitude about the whole thing. Find the “Yes You CAN” crowd and do what they do!

You Don’t Think I Can Watch Me! If someone doesn’t think you have it in you to lose weight and be healthy, use that as motivation to prove them wrong!

Don’t Leave Home Without Them. No time to work out? Keep your sneakers in your car or in your desk drawer. You will be shocked when you realize how often you find time to slip a few moments of exercise into your day. Have 20 minutes to kill between meetings? Pull your sneakers out of the car and take a quick walk while you wait.

Laurel House is a Fit Living Expert, 3x published author, and believer in living a life of balance. See more of her “Quickie Tips” on her website QuickieChick.com.

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