To Knit To Love To Laugh is Life

As a gym owner, I can tell you that it is a very rewarding business, offering people a nice place to workout and also seeing people making positive changes in their health and their lives; it is a dream come true. In this business we see how exercise affects people physically and emotionally but we also see how peoples emotions affect how or even if they exercise.

Let me give you an example. The other day a woman came in to check out the gym. Immediately after the greetings were over she told me how she hated to exercise and then as I gave her a tour I heard a list a reasons on why she didn't think she could do it. Now, don't get me wrong I'm glad she came in because these are the type of people that we really like to help, but her attitude may very well cause her to fail. We hear things like this all the time whether it be people saying 'I hate it' or 'I can't do it' or 'I'm too out of shape to do that class' or 'I'm just not motivated'.

This gets me to thinking about the way we talk to ourselves. Negative self-talk is very self-destructive and yet some people can be very negative with themselves. If you tell yourself that you hate something than how can you expect a positive result? I'm a firm believer that your fitness routine needs to start in your head. If you tell yourself you can't, you won't. If you tell yourself that you are not capable, you will never be capable. If you put exercise at the bottom of your priority list, it will stay there.

Instead, tell yourself that you deserve to workout and feel good. Look at exercise as a gift you give to yourself. Tell yourself that you will do your very best and then do your best, whatever that is, and be proud! Tell yourself that you want to have more energy; the list goes on and on.

I think there are several reasons why people talk themselves out of working out and I think they are based in fear. If you tell yourself that you are going to start an exercise routine, you may be afraid that you will not stick with it and sometimes that is too big a risk to take. Other people may be afraid of the environment and feel that they don't belong. All I can say is that every single person started somewhere and just because someone you see is in good shape doesn't mean that they were always that way. They very well may have started out in poor physical shape.

Another common fear is the realization that this is a lifestyle, not something to do for a couple of months and then stop. Fear of commitment is common. This is where that positive self-talk comes in handy. You know logically that exercise is going to make you feel better, stay healthy, relieve stress, look better and improve the quality of your life. These are just some of the positive reinforcements that you can give yourself in a moment of weakness.

I am no stranger to these struggles. I remember times in my own life when I told myself that 'I worked all day, I deserve to go home and relax' when in actuality I felt 100% better when I started adding exercise to my routine. So the next time you start to talk yourself out of going out for a walk or going to the gym ask yourself what you are really trying to avoid and why. Ask yourself what you want to do for yourself…nothing or something wonderful!