We’re sure many of you are familiar with the children’s book, If You Give a Mouse A Cookie. A story in which a mouse receives a cookie and then continues to ask for increasingly more elaborate things. It is meant to teach children how one small thing can lead to unforeseen outcomes.
Now, as much as we would love to reminisce about childhood stories, that is not the intention of this piece. Rather, the focus is more on the ladder … how tiny things could result in something largely unexpected.
To make the focus even narrower, we’d like to discuss this idea in terms of working out. By pushing yourself in the slightest way, you could end up with even greater, unexpected consequences.
A Reward System
It’s no secret that humans love to reward themselves. It’s simply a part of how our brains are wired. We do something good, we reward ourselves. Had a bad day? You deserve a treat. Feeling sad or upset? A reward for making it through will make you feel better! In really anything in life we find a way to deserve it. This is not a bad thing by any means. Rather, it’s a way of assuring our happiness. However, oftentimes we reward ourselves with things that we aren’t necessarily supposed to have under regular circumstances — whether this is a second sweet treat of the day, a reason to stay in bed longer or … an excuse to skip a workout.
We know that working out is hard to do. It does take a lot of motivation to continuously push your body to uncomfortable levels just to break a sweat. We get it. But doesn’t it feel so good when it’s over? Doesn’t your day get a little bit better and don’t you feel just a little bit happier with yourself?
Change in Perspective
Don’t lie … we know it’s true! Why else would you keep doing it? So why not make working out a reward? Instead of rewarding yourself with not working out, do the opposite! Each thing you’re proud of doing that day or the day before, push yourself a little more in the workout. By dedicating a push to something specific, you’ve changed the intention of why you’re doing it.
For example, instead of doing a set just to get it done faster, say to yourself, this set is for getting an A on my last exam. You’ve now altered your mindset and made the workout a reward instead of an action you HAVE to do.
Oh The Places You’ll Go
Once you’ve put this into practice, pushing yourself a little bit more each time will now be fun rather than dreadful. You’ll place yourself in a position of wanting to go the extra mile, of craving the challenge. Then, you’ll learn just how much you can accomplish. You might think right now that you can only run a mile. However, if you can run a mile, you can run 1.1 miles. And if you can run 1.1 miles, you can probably push yourself to 1.5 miles. Before you know it, you’re at 2 miles!
However, this can only be achieved through you. You have to believe, or at least convince yourself, that you deserve to go harder and that you truly can. It starts with giving yourself one small thing. You did something great, now you get one small push. Those pushes then add up and over time, you have results you never would have expected. You’re eventually doing things you never thought was possible for yourself.
So, give yourself a (metaphorical) cookie and see where it leads you!
Tweet us, @VALLEYmag, on how you reward yourself!
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