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The strongest fitness tool you need: your brain!
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Your Strongest Fitness Tool: Intention to Change We've come to the final tool in our fitness toolkit! I think this one is the opposite of the no-brainer: it's your brain. You have to decide to make change in your brain. You have to have intention.
So many people say they want to change their lives for the healthier, but what they really want is what every diet commercial tells them they can have: the benefits of change without really having to change. Has that ever really happened? Real change requires real change, plain and simple. If you don't do anything different, nothing different will happen.
What is it they say about the definition of insanity? A good friend of mine commented the other day about intention, in a conversation we were having about - what else? - personal wellness and what it takes to maintain it in an instant gratification society. There are so many opportunities in our daily lives to stray away from the changes we want to make and go back to unhealthy habits. But, she said, you really have to decide to change. That's where we came up with the image of "babysitting your brain." Sometimes you have to sit on your own shoulder and babysit your brain to keep it from doing stupid stuff.See, our brains are smart, but they're stubborn and pampered. They're used to getting their own way. Kind of like toddlers! Toddlers are smart, but they're stubborn, pampered, and used to getting their way. And what happens when a toddler doesn't get their way? Oh yeah. They throw a fit. They throw themselves on the floor, kick and pound their fists, cry and scream, and carry on until we give in and give up. Does this sound like a brain you know? Brain: I want to sleep more.You: No, we're getting up to exercise.Brain: But this bed is so cozy! I don't wanna!You: Yes, that's what we're doing today. Lying in bed made us flabby and sluggish. We're going to feel good today.Brain: NO NO NO NO NO NO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! I DON'T LIKE THIS!And so on. If you are persuing your goals without intention to change, this is where you may give in: "okay, fine, but we're working out tomorrow and this time I really mean it." Brain is happy. You not so much. Brain learns that it doesn't really have to change if it throws a big enough fit.But if you have intention - that is the decision to make changes no matter what - then this is where you pull the brakes on your brain's temper tantrum and put it in the time-out chair until your workout is done. You intended to make change, and you made it. And because your brain is so smart, it begins to catch on that things are going to change around here and it better start being nicer. Before you know it, your brain becomes your partner.Does that make sense? You went into the situation as the grown-up, intending to be in control and sticking to your guns despite the roadblocks your brain threw in front of you. Intention means deciding to change. Try it.
Tags: Exercise Healthy Living Healthy Eating Goals
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