There is overwhelming scientific evidence that being active and exercising regularly is essential for good health. Yet many, if not most, Americans remain relatively inactive. Fewer than 20% of Americans exercise intensely for an hour four times a week. Being active and exercising regularly though, are not necessarily the same thing. Exercising regularly involves discipline and the conscious decision to make exercise a priority in life. We exercise because we want to…..we want to be stronger, look/feel better, perform better, improve our flexibilty, fit into a new pair of pants, etc.
Being active is a way of life—-it is what humans are designed for. An inactive lifestyle is a learned activity, an accumulation of bad habits. Perhaps, whether a person makes exercise a priority is determined by the subconscious mind. How do you know if you have a subconscious mind that favors exercise?
I have developed a list of ten actions that a person with an “active” mind-set might perform. See how many you perform on a regular basis.
- take the stairs whenever possible, especially if it is a matter of only 1-3 flights.
- walk or bike for short-distance errands (1-3 blocks)
- walk a golf course instead of using a cart
- take your dog or cat for a walk instead of letting them run around the neighborhood off-leash
- park in the first available parking spot instead of circling the area until you find a closer parking spot
- getting out of your car and going to the front door of a house instead of honking your horn and expecting that person to run out to your car
- carrying your luggage instead of pulling/rolling your bags
- carrying your grocery bags to your car instead of using a cart
- bringing your grocery cart back to the store or cart area vs. leaving the cart next to your parking spot
- clean your home on a regular basis vs. hiring a cleaning service—-same thing with yard work
How “active” is your mind-set? If you perform 7 or more of these actions on a regular basis, then you are internally motivated to exercise daily . If you perform 3-6 regularly, then you have an “active” mind-set but may need a little motivation to exercise regularly. If you infrequently perform any of these actions, you probably need a lot of motivation to exercise…if you exercise at all.
Being active is a personal choice—it really is “all in your head”.