I have two questions for you to think about:
When was the last time you congratulated yourself?
When was the last time you rewarded yourself?
If you are more likely to remember a reward than a congratulation then you may be interested to parallel this with the many studies on employee motivation which show that a “well done” verses a reward by a manager is the greater motivator for productivity.
Given this and continuing with an argument for fitness and nutrition, we will call ourselves “self managers” and acknowledge that a “well done” for our efforts would motivate us more than chocolate (for example). Can motivation for achieving goals be that simple? The answer is yes! Even at its most obvious level a “well done” has less calories! 😉
How can congratulating ourselves be motivating? The act of congratulating is closer to a reflex response to stimuli, like laughing. We all can “make” ourselves laugh, but only when it is a spontaneous emotional reaction to a stimulus, it is so wonderfully feel good. Rarely does a reward in itself produce the same feel good intensity as a good old belly laugh. Even the thought of a hardy laugh will at the very least make you smile – it’s impossible not to!
Why then, is the repetitive formula for motivation in fitness and nutrition a “carrot or stick”? Why is it so entrenched? The truth is, reward or punishment is tangible, it can easily be understood by all and therefore it is easy to sell to the masses! However, we are all uniquely individual with only one thing in common; we can only experience our own body, nutrition and emotion. When we acknowledge this and congratulate ourselves for our uniqueness, we instantly feel good!
Try it now – pick something in the last 24 hours that you on retrospect have done that will bring you closer to good nutrition or fitness. Keeping that thought in mind – start clapping! Go on! Do it! Think it and clap! If you are now not smiling – you are not clapping!
Clapping is a physical, feel good expression of congratulations and appreciation, usually for an extraordinary performance. We all are extraordinary doing the ordinary and this is empowering and motivating!
Standing ovation please! Well Done! Bravo! Bravo! clap, clap, clap, clap ………….
Live well and eat well!
🙂
Anna
Recent Comments