The Life You Want by Greene Bob; Kearney-Cooke Ph.D Ann; Janis Jibrin

Author:Greene, Bob; Kearney-Cooke Ph.D, Ann; Janis Jibrin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2010-12-27T23:00:00+00:00

FIND YOUR MOTIVATION

Earlier I mentioned that exercising can actually motivate you to improve other behaviors—in particular, your eating habits. But before exercise can motivate you, you have to be motivated to exercise, and that, of course, is the crux of the issue. There are many reasons why you should be physically active. But if those reasons don’t really matter to you—and I mean matter deeply—then you are not going to stick with exercise. It’s critical that you find a reason, any reason, that really resonates with you. Not with your significant other, not with your best friend, not with the magazine you subscribe to, not even with your doctor. It has to be something that inspires you and only you.

The importance of a significant motivating factor is something I’ve seen again and again among my clients. But there is also good research—including a series of studies from Portugal—that shows the value of developing an individualized rationale for exercising. One of the studies divided overweight women into two groups. Both received standard advice on diet and exercise, but only one group was encouraged to go deeper and do some emotional work. That group was introduced to many of the same tools you’ll be using throughout this book—the motivational interview, understanding individual barriers, and finding the right type of exercise—all with the aim of developing a very personal incentive for staying physically active. After a year, the group that incorporated the psychological and emotional components lost an average of twelve pounds of body fat, compared to just three pounds for the other volunteers.

The women who developed personal motivations averaged 138 more minutes of exercise per week and 2,049 more steps per day (measured by a pedometer) than the other group. Three years later, they were still getting 86 more minutes of physical activity per week than the group that did no emotional work.

What I find particularly interesting about this research is that it showed that inner motivation is something you can acquire. “Our study shows that people can develop a sense of ownership over their behavior, so their desire to exercise stems from within,” says Pedro J. Teixeira, PhD, one of the study researchers and a professor in the Department of Exercise and Health at Technical University of Lisbon. “Sustaining an appropriate level of physical activity over the long run most often doesn’t come from complying with your doctor’s orders or other external sources but rather from accepting the need for change as your own, integrating exercise into your sense of self. And that can be learned.”

Professor Teixeira’s words set the stage for what you’re going to do next. What follows is a list of twelve reasons to exercise. Some of them you’ll probably read and think to yourself, Yeah, I should probably try to exercise for that reason. That’s not the tepid reaction I’m going for! I want you to find the reason that inspires you to say, “That is what I care about.” That’s when you’ll know you’re on the right track.

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