There it is again…like an annoying itch you can’t quite reach… That nagging voice inside your head. You know… the one that tells you that you’re not good enough, you suck, why bother…you’ll never accomplish anything.
Fact: that little voice that speaks so negatively simply isn’t telling the truth.
It lies to you. Most of the time, the things we tell ourselves are false and are fueled by anxiety, trauma, and deep-rooted emotions. And while it is important to prevent this type of self talk to protect our self-esteem…it impacts our mental and emotional well being too! And since so many aspects of health and fitness are mental, listening to those annoying voices can limit your ability to create real progress. Negative self-talk can absolutely limit your ability to positively change your body and increase your fitness by de-motivating you or preventing you from really trying your hardest. It can also loom a grey cloud over your mindset about working out. If you beat yourself up every time you think about working out or when you’re in the gym…chances are you aren’t going to enjoy it very much! You set yourself up to fall before you even get going.
It's common for people to be hard on themselves when it comes to health and fitness. We’re bombarded with marketing and images of six-pack abs, fitness models and big muscles, which makes it all too easy to criticize ourselves for not being good enough. But letting that self talk turn negative helps you exactly 0%. 0/5 stars. Do not recommend! Talking negatively to yourself will only taint the experience and stop you from enjoying the process. Instead, adopting a more positive mindset can not only help you to look forward to your workouts, but gives you a fighting chance get you the results you want!
So, let’s do a little preventive medicine shall we?! Here are two steps that prevent negative self talk when it comes to working out: Step 1: Acknowledge the Negativity The first step in almost anything is awareness! You might not even notice that you’re engaging in negative self-talk, but how many times have you thought to yourself - “I can’t do this workout” or “I suck at this! I don’t want to do this anymore”? Start to recognize when you are engaging in negative self-talk so that you can move your attention on to changing that process.
Replace those thoughts with reframed statements or positive mantras and you might end up seeing significantly better results.
Instead of thinking “I can’t,” tell yourself that, heck yeah, you can!
Replace that nagging voice that tells you to quit with a strong voice that says “I can do this.”
Step 2: Celebrate Your Wins
Even the smallest of the small – a win is a win is a win, baby! This can make big difference in motivating you to keep on going. Your big goal might be to complete a 30 minute fitness class but starting slow and completing a 10 minute walk is worth celebrating since it means you’re on your way to that big goal. So much of fitness is believing that you can, trying, improving, and never giving up, which is why negative self-talk just doesn’t belong here. Keep your workouts positive!
Stick with me for the month as we go through more strategies to rewire your brain!
And also keep following to be one of the firsts to be apart of the launch of “Refire Your Mind” – a new program by Refire Fitness designed to rewire your brain to break old habits with science based tools and strategies. Stay Tuned!