All the world wants to change your health and fitness habits. So why is it so hard to take the first step?
What stops us?
Especially our brain. One problem is a fundamental law of physics: simple inertia. A body at rest tends to remain at rest unless and until acted upon by an external force. Overcoming inertia requires energy. But the energy of the heart of the brain. It takes the hit of an outside force, like a mean dog pouncing on us, or an upcoming family reunion or vacation, or bad news from the doctor to get us moving.
Another problem is the love stories of our brain. Sometimes stories are useful, such as when they help us understand facts or motivate us. But from what clients tell me, their health and fitness histories are often filled with terrifying questions about the unknown: If I get in better shape, will I lose my friends who didn’t? Do I deserve to succeed? What happens if I improve my health but my partner does not? How can I eat better if my partner doesn’t? My family is not going to want to eat what I eat. How will I manage? If I change my appearance, I will attract a lot of attention. How will that make me feel? What kind of people are these new fans? Why didn’t they listen to me before? And the biggest: What happens if I fail?
Every time we fail, believe me, the brain remembers. The part of your brain that protects you from dark alleys and poisonous berries will kick in and search the database for past failures. If you find any, you’ll fight hard to make it stop before you start, even if it means keeping that extra 40 pounds and a prediabetes diagnosis. The brain doesn’t care. It will relentlessly remind you of your previous failures (ever had buyer’s remorse?) until you sit back down. Or never get up.
What can we do to overcome the force field of our brain? Perhaps the best thing we can do for ourselves is to remember that we invented the more of our fears Fear = False expectations that seem real. We start telling ourselves imaginary stories full of potential problems and therefore inevitable failures. And we keep rewriting the stories with each new scary situation.
What can we do about it?
Try to tell yourself a different story. Internal dialogue is real and it is important. So is having support. As my clients tell me 6 months after starting with us, “What was I thinking? This is really fun!” Your brain loves stories. So why not use that knowledge to create success? Ask yourself, “What would life be like if you got this right?” And start writing from there…
