Amy FriendFebruary 22, 2016

I am currently taking a community college class in Exercise Science and Kinesiology. I love this class. As I complete each assignment, I think “what a great blog this topic would make!” This last week we have been studying the principles of motivation and adherence.

One of the strategies for creating sustainable motivation is FIT/Rational Thinking. FIT stands for Fundamentally Independent Thinking. It means that nothing can make a person upset, angry or depressed, but rather, what a person thinks determines how they feel. I love Henry Ford’s quote, “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” I can apply this to my own life in so many ways. When I first had to go back to school, after 30+ years (as a requirement for my job), I thought, “I can’t do this. I can’t read without getting distracted. How am I ever going to get through all those pages?” My friend and personal coach, Keith Jones, calls me out when he hears me say “I can’t.” My confidence has grown exponentially because of it. Succeeding in that one class motivated me to take another, this time in something that I am really passionate about. Fast forward, five classes later, and I am a wizard at reading and succeeding. Henry Ford’s quote suggests that people’s beliefs about their abilities determine their chances of completing or not completing a task successfully. Psychologists would call this self-efficacy, but, oversimplifying as it may be, you could just call it confidence.

Applied to my workout routine, there have been mornings when my alarm goes off at 4am and I lay there in bed thinking, “I can’t get up. I’m too tired. I didn’t get enough sleep. My body aches.” And, the list goes one. With a stronger mindset, I now say “I can do this!” I get up, workout and prove myself right every time!

As you go through your day, be mindful of your thoughts and what you say. You’re listening and what you internalize directly affects the results you produce. So strengthen your mindset and beliefs to do anything you want to do.

Amy