Mental Muscle, Mind Over Matter & Me Power
Thursday May 27, 2010
The inspiration for this towel comes from time spent in Kenya. Haba na haba hujaza kibaba is a Kiswahili proverb which means little by little fills the cup. For us this proverb means that small changes add up to big changes over time leading to a fuller, more meaningful life.
Towel from Inperspire. I LOVE THIS SAYING ON THIS TOWEL AND WHAT IT MEANS!
So yesterday, I provided a look into many people's motivations for getting healthy & fit, losing weight, eating right & more. You saw it in the pictures & note cards sent into Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit.
Today I want to talk about another source of motivation - mental muscle. Some call it willpower, some call it willingness like MizFit, some call it visualization, some call it powering through, some call it living life. Whatever you call it, gather it up & use it! Don't make excuses, don't lie to yourself, don't fool yourself, DON'T GIVE UP!
Let me tell you some honest truths about me. I don't "love" all the things I do in my exercise program. I don't hate anything but I don't "love" everything. The other thing is that you may start out really disliking something because it is new, but once you do it for a while, you actually end up liking or loving it. It might be just the thing you need & brings a sense of accomplishment too!
Think about your start to healthy eating too. I bet when you first started out, there may have been many foods that did not taste "great" to you but you hung in there, experimented with different ways to cook them or just gave yourself time to get accustomed to them. I bet over time, some of those foods you really disliked may now be part of your list of favorite foods. I know some of my fav foods are ones that are extremely healthy & I look forward to eating them! I love my oatmeal mixture, I love my healthy made chicken & turkey loaf, I love my healthy breads that took the place of my beloved bagels, I love my Greek yogurt that I mix with many things, I love my homemade protein bars. I could go on. You just have to give yourself time. Use that metal muscle to power through... or whatever is your motivation to stick to it!
Back to exercise. For me, to be honest, I am not "in love" with running. Even when I did 5K races when I was younger, I was not one of those runner lovers that got "the high" BUT I still did it & got a sense of accomplishment from it. Now, I don't do races BUT I do quite a bit of running, intervals, HIIT and more. I don't hate it but I don't "love" it. I do like the results I get from what I do, I do feel accomplished after the workout. Same with that StepMill.. it is HARD but I love the results I get from that workout!
Now the weights for me.... a different story. I LOVE LOVE them! Even the hard moves, I still love lifting weights! Yes, I still may have to use the mind muscle to power me through but I don't need the willpower/mind power I muster up for that cardio workout.
Now, I am not telling anyone that they have to do things they don't like to do. There are plenty of ways to "move". There are many many ways to exercise in terms of classes, outdoor activities, DVD's for home use and more beyond the gym. Find your "thing"!
All I am saying is that I have found things that work for me, at the time that I prefer & I do some things that do take some willpower & mind power for me. It ain't all perfect as they say. BUT, it is all worth it in the end & I ALWAYS have a sense of accomplishment from my workouts.
Give yourself a chance to fall "in like" with what you do & maybe eventually "in love" .... muster up that inner power to just do it. It is not always perfect & you can always do something else over time. Just don't give up AND understand that it ain't going to be easy. Even the weights I love are hard cause I work them!!!
This is a life long journey, a lifestyle change. Life changes, you change, your body changes, circumstances change. Whatever you call that willpower, keep it with you always as you will need it. This is just the plain truth..... after 25++ years, it has been the constant with me along with my healthy eating..... I have always needed that mind power!
The inspiration for this towel comes from time spent in Kenya. Haba na haba hujaza kibaba is a Kiswahili proverb which means little by little fills the cup. For us this proverb means that small changes add up to big changes over time leading to a fuller, more meaningful life.Towel from Inperspire. I LOVE THIS SAYING ON THIS TOWEL AND WHAT IT MEANS!
So yesterday, I provided a look into many people's motivations for getting healthy & fit, losing weight, eating right & more. You saw it in the pictures & note cards sent into Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit.
Today I want to talk about another source of motivation - mental muscle. Some call it willpower, some call it willingness like MizFit, some call it visualization, some call it powering through, some call it living life. Whatever you call it, gather it up & use it! Don't make excuses, don't lie to yourself, don't fool yourself, DON'T GIVE UP!
Let me tell you some honest truths about me. I don't "love" all the things I do in my exercise program. I don't hate anything but I don't "love" everything. The other thing is that you may start out really disliking something because it is new, but once you do it for a while, you actually end up liking or loving it. It might be just the thing you need & brings a sense of accomplishment too!
Think about your start to healthy eating too. I bet when you first started out, there may have been many foods that did not taste "great" to you but you hung in there, experimented with different ways to cook them or just gave yourself time to get accustomed to them. I bet over time, some of those foods you really disliked may now be part of your list of favorite foods. I know some of my fav foods are ones that are extremely healthy & I look forward to eating them! I love my oatmeal mixture, I love my healthy made chicken & turkey loaf, I love my healthy breads that took the place of my beloved bagels, I love my Greek yogurt that I mix with many things, I love my homemade protein bars. I could go on. You just have to give yourself time. Use that metal muscle to power through... or whatever is your motivation to stick to it!
Back to exercise. For me, to be honest, I am not "in love" with running. Even when I did 5K races when I was younger, I was not one of those runner lovers that got "the high" BUT I still did it & got a sense of accomplishment from it. Now, I don't do races BUT I do quite a bit of running, intervals, HIIT and more. I don't hate it but I don't "love" it. I do like the results I get from what I do, I do feel accomplished after the workout. Same with that StepMill.. it is HARD but I love the results I get from that workout!
Now the weights for me.... a different story. I LOVE LOVE them! Even the hard moves, I still love lifting weights! Yes, I still may have to use the mind muscle to power me through but I don't need the willpower/mind power I muster up for that cardio workout.
Now, I am not telling anyone that they have to do things they don't like to do. There are plenty of ways to "move". There are many many ways to exercise in terms of classes, outdoor activities, DVD's for home use and more beyond the gym. Find your "thing"!
All I am saying is that I have found things that work for me, at the time that I prefer & I do some things that do take some willpower & mind power for me. It ain't all perfect as they say. BUT, it is all worth it in the end & I ALWAYS have a sense of accomplishment from my workouts.
Give yourself a chance to fall "in like" with what you do & maybe eventually "in love" .... muster up that inner power to just do it. It is not always perfect & you can always do something else over time. Just don't give up AND understand that it ain't going to be easy. Even the weights I love are hard cause I work them!!!
This is a life long journey, a lifestyle change. Life changes, you change, your body changes, circumstances change. Whatever you call that willpower, keep it with you always as you will need it. This is just the plain truth..... after 25++ years, it has been the constant with me along with my healthy eating..... I have always needed that mind power!
As for "circumstances that can get you off track. I wrote this on another blog comment recently: Keep that close in your mind and NO MATTER WHAT, do not let anything ruin what you have already done. Bad days or people can get you in moods that lead to bad places.. just keep in mind that you worked hard & they or the situation is not worth ruining all your hard work! It was them, not you!
Posted by truth2beingfit at 5/26/2010 9:00 PM 
Categories: Motivation/Support, Health, Fitness, Exercise, Workouts, Cardio workout, Weights, Challenges, Tips
Tags: lifestyle brain power running jogging Exercise Tips Inperspire choices workouts fitness weights willpower challenges cardio
Categories: Motivation/Support, Health, Fitness, Exercise, Workouts, Cardio workout, Weights, Challenges, Tips
Tags: lifestyle brain power running jogging Exercise Tips Inperspire choices workouts fitness weights willpower challenges cardio
First of all, I love "ME Power". That is just such a great way of thinking about it. I also, of course, love the towel since it is one of sayings that helps me get through the parts of my workout that I don't particularly enjoy, e.g., treadmill and stairmill, and it helps me put my not particularly stellar workouts into perspective. I don't really enjoy running, but somehow I keep trying because I want to be good at it and I know it is good for me. I use different mantras to get me through the toughest parts of my runs. Today I said to myself, "Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's impossible".
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Karma, I love that mantra you used today!
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After reading this, I think you are my fitness twin at worst, my fitness soul-mate deep down. Ditto on the run.
I have never liked or been good at running, so I decided to do a marathon several years ago thinking I would get good at it. Well, after countless 5Ks and 10Ks, some 1/2Ms, and eventually a few fullMs, I still don't like it and am still not good at it.
But I can run, and I do run. I actually run my own private 5K almost every day of my life -- just because doing so makes me fairly good at something I don't like all that much, and conquering a "dislike" is a very empowering feeling indeed.
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We are one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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When I was young, I loved running, and then I injured my knee many years ago. For a long time after that I simply stated that "I can't run" and never pushed myself. And when I did, it HURT! A LOT!
But then I set myself a big fat hairy audacious goal - to complete the Blackwood Marathon as an Iron Woman - and for that I have to run 12km. So, I've started to run again, and have gotten past that pain and can now run quite well! In fact, it's the one part of my workout I am least likely to skip because now *I CAN*!
And that's what motivates me: being able to do something I thought was impossible, out of reach, or amazing! I no longer want to be average or mediocre!! And you have to work incredibly hard to be incredible!
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I can't comment on your site options. O never heard of the Blackwood Marathon before, but it sounds great. Of course I would probably have to carry my OLD horse! Hope you get it done! Aussie Aussie Aussie
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Hi DrJ. I've changed my settings, hopefully you can comment on my page now. Still learning!
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Thx so much for visiting & what a comment you made! I love it!
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Wow Jody, this and yesterday's blog posting is what I've needed to hear!!!
I've really been struggling lately with myself, my maintenance not my exercise though.
I love my cycling now that I'm really doing it and my weight lifting. Everything else not so much, but I'm learning it all works together.
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Sheri, it is a big mental game at times but if we find our inner me, we can do it!
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I LOVE the towel and I LOVE this post. Both are encouraging, inspiring and hard hitting. It's within ourselves but also helps to gather some energy from others which I have done from you today. So now I'm going for a run which I now LOVE too. Thank you!
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Awesome post Jody! Mental power for me is focus and combining things I love with those I am learning to like. Working through things that are not on the easy radar takes creative planning for me to make it fun UNTIL it becomes a habit!
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Great way to put it JULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You definitely have focus!
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Hi again. LOVED this proverb so much, I referenced you in my blog post today. Spread the word, right!
whatztheskinny.blogspot.com
thanks again and the music is really nice!
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Thx Sara!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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First, THANK YOU again for the link on Whey, I sent you an email with some follow up questions.
I'd say right now I do not love all the dumbbell exercises I do. Some I do love and thus look forward to. Others, like bent over rows, I don't care for. It feels awkward, and requires more attention to perform properly, etc.. Oh I do them, but when I am I can't wait for that exercise to be over so I can move onto the next.
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That is like the cardio for me Patrick.. I can't wait to get to the weights!!!
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I am not a runner, but I do run because it is good for me. Although I am not really running now LOL!
I do things sometimes just to do them as I need to. Kind of like paying bills - we don't like to do it, but necessary!
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Lori, so true.... nice analogy!
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Love everything? Nope. In fact, right now I have to push myself to do anything.
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You can do it Steve!
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