Dealing with your mind is a bit like dealing with a small child.
It doesn’t always know what’s best, and our job is to take it by the hand compassionately and set it on the right path.
Time to go to the gym pits itself against I’d rather stay on the couch, and a mental argument ensues.
One part of your minds says: No thanks, I’m fine where I am. The gym is far away, and it will take too much time, and everything there is really heavy, and do I really want to spend time lifting heavy things?
Another part of your mind counters: You should be ashamed of yourself for staying in bed. The holidays are coming up, and you don’t look that great!
It’s easy to get drawn into an argument with the mind, and the argument is what stymies our progress and saps our motivation.
How do you keep from being pulled in?
Don’t engage in the argument.
When the thought of going to the gym seems overwhelming, try shifting your attention to something more manageable, like the first small step that starts you down the path (e.g., putting on your workout clothes).
We may not be able to prevent unhelpful thoughts and urges, but we can control whether or not we focus on them.
When recruiting, don’t focus on completing a 30-minute calling time block.
Just tell your mind you just need to make one call.
After you make one call, tell your mind you need to do one follow-up.
Before long, you’ll have fooled yourself into completing your time block.
