Shiny Object Syndrome
In the digital world that we’re grown accustomed to, it’s very common to see people comparing themselves to others. Yet as we know, comparison is often the very thief of joy and comparing yourself to others usually leads to depression and anxiety.
The rationale behind this could be that people are motivated by results, especially if results are obtained instantly. If results are the only thing that keeps your motivation going, this can become a problem when results are delayed or don’t arrive as expected.
One of the biggest reasons trainees halt their progress in the gym is because of disappoint in meeting their expectations or comparing their results to another person that’s at another level. The motivation behind building a great physique has to be internal and can never be long lasting when obtained from ‘rewards’ or ‘benefits’.
Training is a marathon journey rather than the mad sprint to the finish line, which is why many people fitness goals are short lived and rarely actualized.
How to Know You’re Working Out For The Wrong Reasons
When it comes to motivation, we’re either driven by things that brings us external rewards or internal satisfaction of positive feelings towards oneself. This is better known as extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation and is what drives individuals towards their goals.
The hormone that regulates a majority of this motivation is known as dopamine, which is released in anticipation of performing an activity. Imagine a commercial advertising a mouthwatering cheeseburger or listening to your favorite playlist before your morning workout.
In the case of working out, dopamine is released in anticipation to the workout and will be released in even higher amounts when you set a new PR or learn a new movement. Dopamine keeps us engaged in pleasurable activities longer, especially if there are positive factors that benefit us.
For this reason, true success in fitness should be measured by how you feel from exercise. Many trainees gain satisfaction from the number on the weight scale or tape measurements of their limbs.
This form of extrinsic gym motivation is rooted from the approval of others or fitting into social groups for validation of the ego. None of this healthy for any individual in the long term and has the tendency to make one competitve and easily controlled by the opinions of others.
These are the some of the reasons why you may be working out for the wrong reasons. If you don’t have any intrinsic personal goals or objectives while training, it’s highly likely you’re wasting your time.
Exercise should be used to improve physical, emotional, and spiritual health rather than impressing others by your appearance. Intrinsic goals like improving posture or strength will have more value and will keep you satisfied for a much longer duration of time.
When an individual has poor reasons for working out, this can lead to toxic behavior and self-sabotaging activities that can cause physical harm. Competitive bodybuilding leads to steroid use, overtraining, and poor rest/recovery periods to prevent injuries from occurring later on.
Exercise should never be used to beat yourself up as if you’re mad at your body and demand for it to become better. This will eventually lead you down a rabbit hole of believing you’re never good enough and destroy any amount progress that you’ve accomplished.
The Wrap Up
Keeping up with regular exercise should be well rooted from what’s best for yourself and minimally from the expectations of other people. Working out for the expectations of others will leave you chasing goals that may never fruition or never being satisfied with any of your results. Make sure the amount of exercises you perform weekly are sustainable and realistic for your preferences, goals, and lifestyle.
What else do you want to know?
Why You Might Lose Motivation to Workout
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