I bet arranging baubles took priority recently.
Nothing wrong with that! Totally normal!
Xmas tree decorating is enjoyable, after all!
But why is it so much easier to get involved in the time consuming task of tree decorating?
Than it is to prioritise your health and fitness?
If you don’t go to work, you’ll get sacked.
If you don’t brush your teeth, your breath will stink.
If you don’t get the tree out, the kids will never forgive you.
But what happens if you don't do that workout.
Or swap the Maccie D's for a chicken breast salad with a side of cous cous?
In the short term: nothing.
And so, we find it hard to prioritise them.
Because our brain doesn’t recognise it as providing an immediate benefit.
And because there's not an immediate negative consequence either.
Well...we don't prioritise and do them.
So how do we get around this, and make them as non-negotiable as brushing our teeth?
We outsmart our brain. That’s what we do.
The brain is a pretty cool thing, you know.
So much so that half the time we haven’t got a fricking clue why we’re doing or not doing something.
We’re running on autopilot, with software that’s been refined over millions of years.
A software that has a habit on focusing on immediate positive outcomes, as opposed to long term ones.
This can make sticking on the trainers or prepping some veggies, a pretty hard task, when there’s a deadline to hit, a house to tidy or some baubles to arrange.
Because “Hey… I can live in my too tight jeans for a bit longer. No biggie!”
“And it’s not like my doctor’s told me I’m going to cark it if I don’t do anything my cardiovascular fitness.”
YET!
And so we put it off.
The key to turning this on its head.
To make exercise of veggie chopping as enjoyable as tree adorning.
Is to do a little upgrade on that old software.
Show the brain that there IS an immediate positive outcome from doing that workout.
Because after a workout, most of us feel energised.
Our cognitive function improves.
We become more productive.
We feel chuffed with ourselves that we’ve done it.
And what is more, no one ever, in the history of lifting weights, regretted a workout.
Ever!
Our little old brain cottons onto this and writes new code into the software to say “exercise is good”.
And thus the more we do it, the less the brain defaults to the old version of viewing exercise as having no immediate benefit.
It starts prioritising it, because it knows it makes us more productive and makes us feel good.
The exact same happens with food.
Less bloating, less brain fog, more clarity, more energy.
So next time you’re procrastinating about prepping a stir fry or signing up to that programme you “kind of want to do, but…”
Just go ahead and do it.
Because soon it’ll become something as standard as brushing your teeth or ragging the tree out of the attic in November.
Yet with the priceless benefits of becoming “stronger, fitter, healthier and happier" as a consequence.
Trust me, it’s science
Not sure what you should be doing on the food and/or exercise front?
Reach out to me to see how we can build something together that works for you and your lifestyle, ready for 2023.
Commentaires