I remember attending a motivational seminar where the speaker said, “If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic.” The idea being, if you don’t feel like you posess a certain quality, you should act as if you do, and then your actions will work to change your mind set. Of course, it would always be great if the act came about as a result of a change from within. That way the changes come from the heart and are much more likely to last. By acting “as if” all the time there is the risk that what you are doing will remain an act and there will be a regression to the old behavior. Bottom line is that any meaningfull change must eventually come from inside. We must all come to terms with ourselves and decide what we really want. Is all this exercise and diet just something I do or is it a part of who I now am?
When I decide to make changes in my life that are in line with my fitness goals I ask myself if I actually am thinking differently and not just going through the motions. Do I dread the thought of eating fast food? Do I hate sleeping in? Do I feel uneasy about taking a day off from working out? We are all human, and I understand that even Jack Lalanne fought exercising once in a while, but if we do the right things most of the time and our heart is in it we need not be so hard on ourselves. Some days I can’t wait for the alarm to go off at 5 am so I can get to the gym. Some days it’s tough, but I know that if I act “as if” until I get my shoes on, the desire and enthusiasm will be there. The important thing is to be comitted to your goal. Be consistent in your behavior. Those changes that you desire will come about. No amount of extra sleep or calorie laden food can compete with the feeling of being fit.
