Mental Motivation

Today, I told you that you were going to go out and run 5 miles without worrying about the time- we would just run and I would let you know (by distance markers) how long we had to go as we progressed through the course. We set off and as we get to the final mile mark, I let you know that we only have 1 more to go. We are now 1/2 mile away from the finish and you tell yourself, "just hang in there..just about 4 more minutes." We hit the finish and I break the news to you, "congrats, you just ran 7 miles." You can't believe it. We were just going to run 5. You mentally prepared yourself for 5- how did we just run 7?

Most times, we place mental barriers on ourselves when we focus on pure numbers- in this case, mileage. You mentally prepared yourself for 5 miles, yet your body could go the extra 2. Had you just run 5, you would have been (at mile 4) telling yourself- 1 more to go. But, you truly had enough in you to go the extra 3. I am not suggesting that you do this every workout- or that you even have the energy to do this every run. But, it is amazing what your mind tells your body to do if you place set limits or barriers on yourself. No limits=no barriers to reaching your goals.

I use this example for the scale, too. Some people have specific expectations for their weight- and most people have a "goal" weight. If you took the focus off of this number and placed your mental efforts in the methods you need to take to get there (eating right, exercising) your weight will come off- trust me.

So, today- practice positive mental motivation, without barriers. Truly believing that the sky is the limit is a great way to believe in your capabilities. If you tell yourself to only workout "this" hard, that is what you can expect- but, if you go in with the thought that you will work out as hard as you possibly can- you will surpass the "this" and you just might hit an all-time height in your physical image and strength.