How can you trick your mind into thinking it actually WANTS to exercise?

We all struggle with motivation sometimes!

Some people pay thousands of dollars for motivation from a personal trainer. We fear that if we don’t have someone to hold us accountable for our fitness, we’ll let it slide.

What if we could turn our minds into our own personal trainer? Free.

By deepening your understanding of a few simple psychological phenomena, you’ll be able to shift your mind from something that deters you from running… to your biggest motivator.

Your body yearns to run, but your mind says no. How can you trick your mind into thinking it wants to exercise too?

Well, the first thing you have to do is make a plan. Before you can start using psychological conditioning, you must create a tangible training program. Start with small, achievable goals, like going for a run every other night for a week.

Write your plan in list form or write it on a calendar.

Next, it’s time to apply a psychological phenomenon called operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning is a term given to the psychological effect of positive and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is when we complete an action and are given a reward as a direct result. When we receive a reward, certain parts of our brain are stimulated in a way that encourages repetition of the action.

Having a plan can really help with motivation.

How can having a checklist activate operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning requires an action and a response. In this case, the exercise is the action. You need to create a response for yourself in order to connect the desirable stimulus with the positive action.

Let’s start simple. Make it a habit to cross off each exercise you do from your list after completing it. Just this simple “reward” will draw attention to your success. Repeating this pattern of positive reinforcement action will trigger pleasure in the brain. Eventually, subconsciously, you’ll expect to check off each little accomplishment on your list. Suddenly going for a run is much more of an accomplishment than before.

Maybe the list keepers aren’t as stern and strict as everyone makes them out to be.

They just know how to enjoy. One small check at a time.

How else can you incorporate the action-reward mindset of operant conditioning into your exercise program? Make running part of a more elaborate routine. For example, if you run every Tuesday at 7, reward yourself at 8 by watching your favorite TV show. The mind loves habits, routines and patterns. Eventually, you will feel BAD if you don’t do your usual run.

If you want to take operant conditioning even MORE seriously, you could introduce punishment into your routine. For example, put a jar next to your checklist. Every time you go for a successful run, add a dollar to the jar. But every time you skip an exercise on your list, take out a dollar. At the end of the month, do something fun for yourself, budgeted for the amount of money you collected in the jar.

Realize that a lack of motivation to exercise is something that everyone experiences.

You’re not alone.

And you can beat this laziness!

Now get out there and run!