Learning to love what is good for us

Wouldn’t it be great if we loved doing the things that were good for us?

There are those things we do because we love doing them. Then there are those things we do because they're good for us or it's the 'right' thing to do.

But wouldn’t it be great if we could learn to love the things that are good for us? If there was more of an overlap, then those things that are good for us also become those that we love doing.

Allow me to delve into some psychology for a bit...

Self-determination theory: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

When we’re extrinsically motivated, we’re motivated by some external factor pushing us to do something, perhaps in the hopes of earning a reward or avoiding a negative consequence. Examples include exercising to lose weight, brushing our teeth to avoid tooth decay, or studying in order to pass an exam.

When we’re intrinsically motivated, we’re motivated by some internal desire to do something for its own sake, usually because we enjoy the activity itself, or for a sense of personal accomplishment. For example, cleaning the house because it feels good or reading a book because we enjoy the story.

Self-determination theory states that an individual’s TOTAL motivation is the sum of their levels of external motivation and internal motivation combined. So you can see that both types of motivation can be useful.

But intrinsic motivation has the edge...

The theory goes on to state that intrinsic motivation is most influential in making and sustaining long-term behaviour change. So, the more we can learn to love doing the things that are good for us, the easier it will be to change and shape our behaviour.

An example from my own life

I'm currently working on loving to run. I started running 4 years ago to lose weight. Then I ran to complete a couch-to-5k programme. Then I ran to get fitter. Then I ran to earn a 5k medal, a 10k medal, a faster 10k time, a sub-2 hour half marathon. There's always been a reason for my running. And whilst I've loved the medals and I've been proud of the discipline it has taken, I can't say I've really loved running.

Now I want to learn to love running with no end goal - enjoying the moment, the process, the art of running. Some might call it running mindfully. This will be a topic in a future blog post.

What are some ways we can learn to love what's good for us?

Being in the moment helps - appreciating the subtleties, the often-unnoticed feelings that come with whatever activity we're doing. So, with running, for example, I'm trying to focus on the colours of nature around me, the feel of the ground beneath my feet, the changes in my body as I fatigue.

Knowing that something is doing us good really helps as well. I've changed the food that I eat a lot over the years in order to eat as healthily as possible, but it's not always easy as I have a very sweet tooth. But visualising the good that the more nutritious food is doing to my body helps keep me (mostly) on track with a healthy diet.

A sense of achievement for whatever you've accomplished, no matter how seemingly small, is important too. Congratulate yourself for each step you've taken towards a healthier, stronger, fitter life. Don't let the negative, critical voice take over. Feel good about the changes you're making. Give yourself a metaphorical medal if you need to!

What behaviours or actions that are good for you do you want to learn to love? How might you go about doing this? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

And if you'd like any help with making some life changes, then do get in touch.

#motivation #behaviourchange #learningtolovethegood #mindfulrunning #strongmind #fourfoundationsfitness