When chronic exercisers are asked about the top reason they engage in physical activity, the #1 reason they cite are shifts in mood, namely increases in experienced positive emotion. Unfortunately, exercise isn’t instant gratification, and most people won’t experience the mood-boosting effects of exercise until they have developed a regular routine for several weeks.
Keep an exercise log. Record the date and time of activity, the intensity, and the length of each session of physical activity. Also note if you were alone, or with a friend, and how much you enjoyed the activity. Free tools are available online and even on your iPhone.
Monitor your mood. At the end of each day, log into Happier and use the Positivity Test or Authentic Happiness Index to track changes in your positivity ratio or happiness levels. Record your scores in the exercise log.
Use feedback to revise your strategy. After several weeks, go back and review the log. Are there specific types of activities that boost your mood over others? Does the time of day for exercise seem to have an impact? Take note of these patterns and adjust your routine.
Taking on an approach versus avoidance mindset can do wonders for motivation. Sure, dropping the saddlebags and squeezing into a bikini are great goals for exercise, but instead of focusing on some aspect of yourself that you want to change or lose, why not ask yourself what you might gain in terms of vitality and the physical capacity to pursue a good life?
Create a vision of the future. Start by thinking about what is most important to you and work from there. Are your children the most important to you? Or developing your entrepreneurial endeavors? Write down what you envision as your best possible future.
Think about the tangible rewards. Articulate what you could potentially gain in these areas of your life by becoming more active: More energy to run around and play with your children? Increased ability to handle daily stressors in managing and growing your business?
Finally, set positively worded goals. “I will” vs. “I won’t” or “I hope to gain” vs. “I hope to lose”. Write these down and revisit them frequently.
What if there was a pill that you could take every day to effectively prevent diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and certain forms of cancer? And what if the same pill would effectively reduce nearly every risk associated with all cause mortality? Would you take it? Would you urge your families and friends to take it?
These are questions Dr. Robert Sallis posed as I listened to him describe the new “Exercise is Medicine” initiative by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Medical Association (AMA). Amid fiery debate over escalating costs and declining accessibility to healthcare, this groundbreaking partnership intends to push exercise and physical activity into the forefront of the public healthcare management discourse and introduces them as an integral aspect of disease treatment and prevention.
What if this pill was also a powerful tool in warding off dementia, anxiety, and depression? What if it improved self-esteem, cognitive functioning, and boosted your mood?
Exercise is a low-cost, accessible, and self-directed activity, and the truth is, most of us know that exercise is both medicine and therapy. So why aren’t we doing more of it? We all hear the Surgeon General’s warnings about smoking, sedentary lifestyles, and the dangers of eating fast food, yet we still sit in front of our televisions watching incessant advertisements for the latest antidepressants, channel surfing with our greasy French-fried fingers, then wake up to a breakfast of Camel lights and coffee.
We need more than just information – we need motivation! Until an Exercise is Therapy initiative is developed, follow some of the simple tips in this blog series to get you on the path toward adopting a healthier and HAPPIER lifestyle, which begins like anything else: Just one step at a time.
Answer: Every time I teach Active and Constructive Responding to a group, at least one person expresses the concern that their efforts using this exercise will be perceived by others as fake or uncharacteristic of them. People particularly get hung up on what it means to “display genuine interest,” and whether that requires them to act “perky” or “upbeat” when that may not be their natural demeanor. Here are the three things I say in response:
1. You’d be surprised how responsive people are to behaviors that are pleasant, even if they are atypical of the person doing them. Just because you’ve never done something before doesn’t mean that other people won’t be happy to see you do it.
2. It is normal to feel a bit uncomfortable when trying out something new – give it a try anyway. What’s the worst that could happen?
3. You don’t have to become a different person, or adopt a different demeanor, to display interest. Just ask a lot of questions! The more you prolong a conversation, the more obvious it is that you are interested in the topic. This “counts” as being Active and Constructive just as much as squealing and jumping up and down does.
And here’s what Todd Kashdan has to say about putting these skills to place in the work environment:
Dr. Acacia Parks-Sheiner is an instructor in positive psychology, a researcher and a member of the Positive Psychology Practitioner Directory. Dr. Parks-Sheiner has taught a variety of classes on how to use positive psychology interventions, and she often gets questions from students and clients about what will work best for them.
Optimism can help us look toward the future, but unreasonable optimism can be your worst enemy when you’re setting goals for exercise. If you start by reaching too high, falling short of your initial goal may ultimately serve to make you feel discouraged, rather than inspired to exercise. Even worse, overdoing it can bring harm or injury to your body.
Take stock of your life. If you’re already working full-time, raising two children, and taking night classes, then aspiring to exercise for three hours every day is probably unrealistic. Ask yourself: Based on what my life looks like right now, what is a goal that seems manageable and attainable?
Give yourself permission to be human. We all fall off the wagon, sometimes three or four times, when we’re trying to adopt a good habit (or break a bad habit). Be disciplined and make plans for following through on your schedule, but if an emergency comes up, don’t beat yourself up. Sit down, take a breath, and create an alternate plan, which can be as simple as promising to take the stairs to your 14th floor office in the morning.
Be flexible. In exercise, think None-or-Something, rather than default to the All-or-Nothing thinking that can be one of the greatest barriers to physical activity. Even brief bouts of physical activity spread through the day can bring similar physical and psychological benefits. Remember this next time you want to can your workout for the day just because you can’t run the entire 6 miles.
