10. #9 Exercise Can Help You Improve Your Discipline and Determination
When you begin exercising you’ll be at a certain fitness level. Your body will adapt and you’ll get stronger, faster, and fit. You’ll be able todo more and thus will likely set new goals that challenge you. The desire to achieve your goal will help you develop discipline. That is, you’ll stick to your exercise program even when it’s challenging and frustrating, because you are determined to achieve your goal.
And failures only help lock in that sense of determination. This benefit will begin to be part of your life. As you move through your fitness goals, your sense of discipline and determination will take hold. You’ll notice that you may be more determined at work. Your personal life may change as you become more aware of what you’re capable of and determined to live the life you want.
An Example of Exercise Discipline and Determination.
Mara was a couch potato who had visions of getting back to her old running form. She was a competitive runner in high school and loved it. She dreamed of being able to compete in running events and set her first sights on a local 5K.
Mara started by walking three miles every day. After a couple weeks she added a few minutes of jogging to her daily walking routine. As her fitness improved she transitioned from walking most of the time tojogging most of the time. Eventually she was jogging the full three miles. She would be able to compete in a 5k but she would be slow.
So Mara began setting time goals for herself. She aimed to run ten seconds faster per mile each week. So the first week she cut 30 seconds off of her time. The second week she cut 40 seconds and missed her goal. Mara continued working on her pace until she attained a respectable 10-minute mile. She entered her 5k and because of her discipline and determination, she cut her time by a full thirty seconds per mile during the race.
Tip – Become aware of times when you feel like quitting. Ask yourself why you want to quit and what you can do to work through this feeling. What needs to change for you to stick to your goals?