I CAN vs. I Don't Want To
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Last week when I was on the treadmill doing my oh so "fun" high intensity interval training, HIIT as it is called ... or should we call it "hit me hard intervals", this thought came to my mind:
"Do I not want to .. or is that I just can't go this fast a second longer ... OR CAN I?"
What made me think this? I was doing the HIIT & was up at a pretty fast clip. I had hit the 1 minute mark & was all ready to slow myself down when the thought above came to my head. So, I kept going. I thought, YES, I can do this a bit longer & so I did and I got 30 seconds more out of it!!!! I asked myself as I was getting to that 1 minute mark... am I slowing down just because I really don't want to run this fast any longer or is it because I really can't do anymore. I could do more but I was "mentally" programmed to want to stop.
If many of us thought about this, we would realize that we actually can do a lot more than our mind tells us if we give our body the chance!!!
You can even apply this to your weight training. How many of you reach a certain number of repetitions & stop there. Have you ever tried to eek out 1-3 additional reps with good form? You just might find that you CAN do it!!! So if you can do more, why not try to lift a bit heavier next time if that is your goal. I was doing walking lunges the other day... on & on they went. I got to a point & felt pooped. I wanted to put the weights down & pick up lighter ones BUT I went back to my thought above. I stuck with the heavier weights & got another 20 lunges out of them!!!!
Let me offer up this CHALLENGE to you.... next time you exercise, whether it be cardio or weights, if you find yourself stopping or slowing down or putting that weight down, do this for me first: Ask yourself are you stopping or slowing down because you just can't do 1 more rep or 10 more seconds or two more minutes OR is it that you really don't want to so you tell your body it is done. Give your body a chance to show you it can do more than your minds says it can... challenge yourself!!!!
Listen, if you purposely decide not to do more & you are honest with yourself about that, so be it & that is fine BUT otherwise, push ahead. You will be pleasantly surprised by how much you are actually capable of doing and more!!!!!
Last week when I was on the treadmill doing my oh so "fun" high intensity interval training, HIIT as it is called ... or should we call it "hit me hard intervals", this thought came to my mind:"Do I not want to .. or is that I just can't go this fast a second longer ... OR CAN I?"
What made me think this? I was doing the HIIT & was up at a pretty fast clip. I had hit the 1 minute mark & was all ready to slow myself down when the thought above came to my head. So, I kept going. I thought, YES, I can do this a bit longer & so I did and I got 30 seconds more out of it!!!! I asked myself as I was getting to that 1 minute mark... am I slowing down just because I really don't want to run this fast any longer or is it because I really can't do anymore. I could do more but I was "mentally" programmed to want to stop.
If many of us thought about this, we would realize that we actually can do a lot more than our mind tells us if we give our body the chance!!!
You can even apply this to your weight training. How many of you reach a certain number of repetitions & stop there. Have you ever tried to eek out 1-3 additional reps with good form? You just might find that you CAN do it!!! So if you can do more, why not try to lift a bit heavier next time if that is your goal. I was doing walking lunges the other day... on & on they went. I got to a point & felt pooped. I wanted to put the weights down & pick up lighter ones BUT I went back to my thought above. I stuck with the heavier weights & got another 20 lunges out of them!!!!
Let me offer up this CHALLENGE to you.... next time you exercise, whether it be cardio or weights, if you find yourself stopping or slowing down or putting that weight down, do this for me first: Ask yourself are you stopping or slowing down because you just can't do 1 more rep or 10 more seconds or two more minutes OR is it that you really don't want to so you tell your body it is done. Give your body a chance to show you it can do more than your minds says it can... challenge yourself!!!!
Listen, if you purposely decide not to do more & you are honest with yourself about that, so be it & that is fine BUT otherwise, push ahead. You will be pleasantly surprised by how much you are actually capable of doing and more!!!!!
Does this post sound familiar to any of you? Do you stop yourself before you really know if you can do more? Do you sell yourself short? Give this a try & you may find you are way stronger than you think you are .... You are awesome so tell yourself that & show yourself YES YOU CAN!
Good discussion. I work with a trainer and we have easy, medium and hard sessions - I never know which it will be going in! When we are working on the hard sessions, or I'm running full out, I try to make sure that I give it my all so I don't feel like I still had more in the tank. I want to leave it all on the road/in the gym. But there's no way that I can work out like that all the time so I wouldn't recommend to work out like this every session. I think your body needs some recovery/easier sessions.
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Lisa, thx for your good points! Yes, we should change up the intensity of our sessions. If you do high intensity one day, do something easier the next. Even in my easy sessions, though, I make sure to not sell myself short.
Thx for your input!
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its all about being WILLING for me in every area of my life.
99% of the time when I think or say I CANT it truly means I AM UNWILLING.
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Miz, excellent way of saying this - unwilling.
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Jody - I will ask myself those questions next time I work out, and I'll think of you when I do. It's so important not to settle for second or third best. Make the best use out of the time/workout that you can!
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this reminded me of FitJerk's post about can vs won't. I love it! it's a great reminder that the only thing holding us back is US!!! not time, family, friends, responsibilities... it's US!
great post!
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Usually (but not always), my "limiter" is the clock rather than ME. If time allows for extra, I'll make deals with myself: I can do two more of these or one more of THOSE. It keeps my mind occupied, if nothing else.
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Cammy, I like that.. making deals with yourself!
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I gladly accept your challenge!
I sometimes mentally psyching myself out, watching the clock and thinking-"I should stop, can't do any more, must.get.off.treadmill"- for no reason.
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I exercise on the battlefield of my mind. Ugh. I will push myself more. I know I have more in me.
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What a timely post. I was at the gym yesterday and got to the halfway point in my workout and really... my heart just wasn't in it. I was ready to pack my things and hightail it out of there. That's not like me, but I slowed down and really started trying to think through this thing rationally. Apparently, thinking rationally is a painfully slow process for me, so when I got through with the thinking part, I realized that I was now four-fifth's of the way through my workout. Suddenly, I got a burst of energy and brought it home. Sometimes you just gotta find a detour around the "I can't do it" mindset.
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Jack, great comment.. THX! I think we can always find a way around it if we really have something left in us. Yes, sometimes we have hit bottom but 98% of the time, we have a bit more.
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Normally when I am wanting to slow down or stop, I realize it is because I am close to stepping out of my comfort zone. Then I push through. Only through challenging our comfort zones can we progress.
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I think our brains are connected because I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I know I think more about what I can do and try to make sure I always do that so I don't sell myself short. Thanks for posting about this!
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