I recently realized that my being more introverted helped my exercise plan to work – for me! I tried telling others about it and didn’t get much interest and I couldn’t understand why! Well, duh – a lot of folks want to be around others! I’ve always exercised a lot more by myself, so I thought that’s why it has worked for me, and might work for others.
Basically, I didn’t like classes or group activities. I tried, but didn’t enjoy them. I really liked running, swimming, biking and lifting – by myself. And I resented trainers telling me what to do. Nothing against trainers!
I’ve learned to appreciate my own methods, a lot. Now that it’s more socially acceptable and recognized that being introverted is ok, I can frame it differently.
One major benefit of exercising alone is that I’ve come to be more tuned in to my body and what I feel like doing. Yes, sometimes I’m surprised by not feeling like doing as much as I thought, or the opposite, finding that my body wants to do more than planned. But generally, I’ve learned to respect what my body feels like doing.
Like basically anyone else, I’ve had experiences of coming up against an invisible wall, not to being motivated even though I know exercise is good for me. Most of us have had extended periods of time of just not having the motivation, the desire, the need or want, to exercise although we know full well that it’s good for us. Then eventually, starting up again, and wondering – well, I knew it was for the best, why didn’t I just do it?
I guess being a psychologist, I wondered more about the motivation, or lack of motivation and what was causing the blockage. The theory I eventually came to believe in is – we are too hard on ourselves. We criticize ourselves mercilessly, meanly. We think and say things to ourselves that mostly we would never say to another person.
One way of visualizing it is, when we criticize ourselves, we are putting up a wall of invisible bricks. We are unknowlingly stopping ourselves. We all have a four-year-old self who says “You can’t make me!” So after one brick too many, we just stop. We run out of gas to keep pushing ourselves. None of this is conscious, at least at first, maybe never.
What we can do, instead, is create an inviting pathway for ourselves. We can be kind to ourselves; we can accept that some days we don’t feel much like exercise, or we feel like doing less. Rather than be mean and say, well if I don’t do 30 or 45 minutes, it’s worthless – we can say I think I’d like to do some, but not as much. I’ve honed this habit pattern for years, now I can say that I exercise because I want to and feel very good about it!
The bottom line is that the habit means more than any one workout. Doing 45 minutes once a week or once a month and feeling like crap in between doesn’t create good health. Having a reliable habit and accepting our bodies and ourselves as we are can lead to a very healthy body and mind. Regular exercise helps us emotionally and physically.