Boredom and The Art of Tricking Yourself Into Exercising
Case In Point: Even Just Exercising By Walking Will Make You Live Forever (See Above Fig.)
Believe it or not, walking is some of the best exercise people can get. This article is about how to trick yourself into walking a shit-ton.
Sometimes people get bogged down with responsibilities to the point where they monumentalize each subsequent task on their “To-Do” list. When this happens, you look at what you are expected to do and it seems much more imposing than it is. This method makes it so that you cannot rationalize that your visit to the gym is an actual responsibility, and makes it seem less like a “task” and more like a nonchalant, no commitment necessary break from your day.
How To Get it Done
Step 1:
Get really bored.
Step 2:
Decide that you want to watch T.V.
Step 3:
Decide that you should go to the gym and watch tv while walking on the treadmill….no more, and no less. Convincing yourself to walk on a treadmill and watch tv should be easy unless you are REALLY REALLY lazy. It is important in this part to tell yourself that you will not do any more than just walk, so that you can definitively get yourself out the door.
Step 4:
Grab your ipod, and head to the gym. (The Ipod will come in later).
The Fine Print
NOW, depending on how you feel on the particular day you have THREE options when you arrive at the gym. The presence of options is critical to being able to consistently trick yourself using this method.
Option 1:
You can continue with the original plan and just walk on a treadmill and watch tv.
Option 2:
You can muster up additional discipline and go in and do a more rigorous exercise regimen.
Option 3:
You can say “screw-it” all together, and just pop in your earbuds and either walk home or just continue walking around some more before returning.
No matter which option you choose, you have gotten a little bit of exercise. Unless of course your gym is no more than 100 meters away, in which case you really didn’t do much at all. BUT, chances are, most of the time you will actually end up just doing an actual exercise regimen.
WHY THIS METHOD WORKS:
When considering going to the gym from afar, the perceived difficulty of going to the gym and exercising is much greater than the actual difficulty. By telling yourself you aren’t going to actually exercise you eliminate the ability to rationalize how much effort it takes. You replace the perceived difficulty with effortlessness. This way, once you are already at the gym, getting yourself to do a few sets is much easier.
Undoubtedly, sometimes you will choose to just go home, but by doing so you perpetuate the ability to take a no strings attached perspective on the gym, and on your exercise regimen.
NOTE: for people that NEED structure this may not work, but by eliminating structure you eliminate the stress and mental debilitation that might come with expecting yourself to consistently and regularly exert yourself.
Category: Conquering Boredom, Exercise, Free Time, Health
