“Not having been a athlete during my childhood, my experience with the movement was mostly humiliating,” he recalled Kelly McGonigal, Stanford University Health Psychologist and author of the book “The Joy of Movement “, To The New York Times in a report.
The American specialist approached a series of keys to help people trying to get underway with physical activity. In that aspect, three is the number of concrete strategies to convert the exercise into a vehicle that favors motivation.
“Do not try to love every moment. Many people believe they should reach a point where I love every second of exercise,” McGonigal explained, making it clear that this is not realistic. Even during the most rewarding training, there may be moments of pain, difficulty or frustration. Try that those hard moments be the favorite parts.
The second key is to strive to get impulse and not motivation. Constancy and routine are more important. “The motivation is passenger,” said the specialist and explained: “It’s ephemeral. Instead, try to focus on winning. And don’t worry if you’re not an expert in the exercise you are doing. Simply, do it the best you can, and then try again.”
Probably, the third factor is the most important key: look for a community. One of the reasons why exercise achieves certain success is that it can help foster connection with others. “When we move in synchrony with other people, our bodies enter a state. Our brains enter a state that neuroscientists call ‘ourselves,” McGonigal explained and concluded: “We enter a state of union that is biologically real, and we can perceive it as a kind of trust, closeness and belonging.”
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