As I get older, I am still one of those people with the view that the glass is still half full. Not the Pollyanna view that everything is wonderful because I am wanting to view it that way, but understanding that the only part of my day I truly have control over is how I respond to Life. I believe that Attitude will take you everywhere, so cultivating a positive outlook on Life plays up as a personal responsibility that is not easily ignored.
So finding activities and people to support a positive response to circumstances becomes an essential part of your healthy routine. One of these activities can be the incorporation of exercise into your daily routine. Exercise, no matter what form it may take in your Life, is a way of challenging your body and mind to grow. As with a number of things in Life, we receive positive reinforcement of activities when they support natural processes. Exercise is no exception.
In a recent study, researchers found that memories of positive exercise experiences helped to motivate individuals to return to exercise. The researchers asked about 150 college students to recall whether a positive or negative memory that would increase their motivation to exercise. As a control group, other students were not asked to recall a motivational memory. The students were then surveyed one week later to see if they reported an increase in exercise.
What was found was that students who remembered a positive exercise memory reported significantly higher levels of subsequent exercise than those who were not asked to recall a memory about exercise. What the researchers also found was that the students who were asked to recall a negative exercise memory also reported exercising more than the control group but less than the group that recalled a positive memory.
In biological terms, this is coincidentally called a positive feedback loop. The experiences promote more of the same behaviors that bring on similar results. When we reward ourselves with experiences that do not produce negative experiences, these are truly positive experiences. You may have heard of the runner’s high that can occur after some exertion. The sensation is subjective but Science has found that the body can produce these really cool chemicals called endorphins that show the brain a really good time. We are truly chemical creatures but this is chemistry we produce on our own when we exercise our body.
So the next time you’re thinking about exercising, whether as part of a continuing habit or returning after time away, keep some happy thoughts about good times you’ve had exercising (even as a kid!) and you may be able to keep up the healthy habit of regular exercise. And remember that exercise need not be a painful experience, though there are plenty of opportunities for that. All that is needed to gain benefit from exercise is getting the body out and moving for a reasonable length of time. Make it fun!
“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.”
-Ben Okri
Journal Reference:
Mathew J. Biondolillo, David B. Pillemer. Using memories to motivate future behaviour: An experimental exercise intervention. Memory, 2014; 1 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2014.889709
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