This week I did good on the exercise front. I set the goal to walk on a nature trail near my home. I did it four times this week and felt great. While on the furthest part, during one of my sessions, a thunderstorm came rolling in! However I enjoyed every minute of it. I found it to be very exhilarating. I don’t know how I would have felt if it occurred a few months from now when the temperature would be colder.
There is something about being just a little bit nuts that increases one’s motivation.
While with my relatives we went on a beach walk at night to celebrate Labor Day. Like the walking in a thunderstorm that I did earlier in the week, doing something unconventional is a great way to rev up the motivational juices.
Making Exercise A Celebration Of Life
While I was walking in the thunderstorm earlier in the week I decided this would be a perfect time to practice some Qi Qong (sometimes spelled “Chi Kung”). This is a Chinese practice that is similar to Tai Chi. I could see from the side of my eyes some runners passing by looking at me like I am weird but what the hell! Hey it was raining and there was lightning and thunder. But I found this delightful.
I tried to bring this attitude home with me.
That instead of making tasks into chores I would remember to use these as a celebration of life.
The pouring rain was very invigorating and since I was going to be stuck out there anyway I figured I might as well enjoy myself.
I have this habit of turning goals into chores!
You know the motto “just do it”. Well being that I have some background in psychology I would disagree with that motto in some respects. Let me give you a breakdown of the good and bad aspects of the motto “Just Do It”.
The good aspects.
We sometimes get so involved in thinking that it makes things into chores. By the time I get done doing analysis I have the proverbial “paralysis”! So in this case yes “just do it” is a good motto. Also when we work on our goal we don’t always feel good immediately. The motto “just do it” is helpful if we believe we have to feel good first. We don’t want to be held hostage by our “inner child”.
The bad aspects.
Check out the TONE OF VOICE that you say “just do it” when you address yourself! Is it a voice of “permission” and “protection” or a haughty “inner critical voice” that steals the ownership of your goals from you! Sometimes that voice will even have a face associated with it. Maybe a former teacher or your parents, family or friends. Time for a psychological exorcism!
Some advice (and to myself)
Try lowering the volume of your inner talk. This also includes the tone along with the intensity of the self talk! Which is kind of related to the practice of “mindfulness”. If there is no aspect of hurry then “just do it” becomes cool. Else it is the inner critic! Fire alarms work fine but you cannot live your life every day with a fire alarm going off!
I believe that many of those who say “just do it” are getting their motivation from putting others down and feeling a sense of superiority! They are motivational parasites! Their inner voice is not simply saying “just do it” but that they are better than others and actually want to alienate you from your goals! Thus they gain a sense of superiority and that is their motivation to “just do it”!
I find that when we address the issue of self talk it is not simply the contents of the self talk but the attitudinal tone that we speak to ourselves that is the important issue.
But more about that in future posts. I best bring this zest to another problem I have which is cleaning my house of clutter. I will be writing about that in future posts also.
This site is a journal of a journey. The good and the bad as I move to rid myself of procrastination and depression.
Related articles
- Qigong – Health and Healing in TRNC (cyprusscene.com)
- In Search of the Mystical Beast: Motivation (journeytoawesomehood.wordpress.com)
- What to do When You Lack Motivation (christinehammondcounseling.wordpress.com)
