Written by personal trainer Marika Haag
Do you feel that you lack self-discipline and think that someone has to whip you to the gym or out for a run? Do you feel guilty when the bag of sweets opens and you fall on the sofa in the evening instead of being able to go for a run in good spirits?
Take a look at the ideas
The more negative feelings you feel about physical activity and healthy living, the more you may not have made clear to yourself what they mean and mean to you. Once you have integrated a physical lifestyle into your overall values, you don't have to feel guilty when you don't have the energy or the time.
Sometimes it's okay to take that bag of candy to go with the couch potato chips, but it's mainly the feelings they bring out in you. If opening the occasional bag of candy gives you pleasure and helps you cope with everyday life, and you don't get depressed and gloomy afterwards, you might be on the right track.
What matters most is what you do the next day. If you've adopted the idea that a healthy life involves the occasional treat and bag of sweets and skipping a run, negative feelings shouldn't occur or you can objectively identify them and accept them as part of a bigger picture. If you find yourself opening a bag of candy day after day, it may be time to take a step back and pull yourself together.
Find out your values
It is worth making your own values clear to yourself. A value is a desirable thing, a desirable behaviour or a goal. Values are conceptual in nature and guide people's actions. Value also means meaningfulness - when something is meaningful, it is said to have value. Values are also strongly linked to spiritual growth and one's values may undergo major changes along the way.
The first step in making the decision to adopt a physical and healthy lifestyle is to make it a value for yourself. However, exercise and health as values mean different things to different people, so only you can decide what they mean to you. Together with other values, life becomes meaningful and all thoughts and feelings can be dealt with within the framework of these values.
Responsibility for one's own health is one of the most important values that an individual has to choose from today. I would argue that it is the most important, because it is really the basis of a whole life. Once you have decided to make the choice and make exercise and healthy living your goal, it is worth contacting a coach if things need clarification. A coach can help you to define your goals together and to get an idea of how to achieve them and how to keep a physical lifestyle as part of the rest of your life.
Again, there is no shortcut to happiness, and neither will two months of quick changes or a 10-pack of gym cards. Once you understand that health and exercise is a value choice and you start living a life in line with your values, it will reward you in the best possible way.
