Learning From Our Exercise Routines

Think about an exercise routine or class. There might be different exercises, and you have to do each exercise a certain number of times. 

Or you might go for a run, where you start, you get going, you somehow keep going and, eventually, you finish.

Whatever exercise we do,  the patterns is similar:  we have to overcome any negative thoughts before we start, such as "I'll never do this". If we ignore this, we can start with some enthusiasm and we get through the first stage. But then we start to slow, because our energy is flagging and the end still seems a long way away. At this point, some people will give up, not just with exercise, but with any task - like reading a new book or doing a repair in your home or researching a dissertation. We seem to lose sight of where we're going with the task.

Once we get over this phase and apply ourselves to the task, we can make progress. We get past the half-way point and, suddenly, the end seems possible. This encourages us and so we find more energy that we thought we didn't have. The finish line comes into view and we can even find the strength for a last push. And once we've finished, we feel proud of ourselves, if a little surprised at what we actually achieved!

Know when the difficult points will arise, recognise them when they appear and have a strategy ready to deal with them.