The other day I had a coworker approach me. The conversation went along the lines of not having the motivation to Prioritize Physical Activity. Yes, the subject of Priortizing Physical Activity goes beyond these posts, it permeates my every day life. Often times its my relatives making similar comments or asking the same questions. This dates back to my younger years. So its not unusual for me to have these types of conversations outside of ACTIVE-DAD.com
To frame this conversation, the focus of the discussion was motivation. My colleague was seeking my help in motivating them to Prioritizing Physical Activity. They stated they needed me to help motivate them. In my mind I was thinking, if you need me to motivate you, then you haven’t hit the right level of disgust yet. I emphasize the “in my mind” part. An unfiltered conversation of this nature may not go well in the workplace, for obvious reasons.
Also in my mind was a quote from James Allen, “A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admiers in another. None but himself can alter his condition.”
Use Disgust as a tool
Now I know some Body PositiviERs may not agree, but there is a rock bottom for some of us. We would all like to think that we are just fantastic just the way we are, but from a health perspective, that may not be your truth.
Check out “Can You Promote Body Positivity AND Self Improvement?“.
When you hit the right level of disgust, you don’t need external motivation. Your motivation will come from within. But this form of disgust is not from sheer vanity. The disgust I’m referring to is from deep internal examination, knowing what you have allowed yourself to become, knowing the person you see in the mirror right now, is not the REAL YOU.
The feeling of DISGUST is a powerful emotion. Disgust can be a transformative emotion. So much so, that it can change the way you feel about someone or something. I know you can relate. You’ve been in love before and been pushed to a level of disgust that you can’t even stand being around that person.
Levels of Disgust
Your level of disgust may be different from mine. I can look in the mirror and see a little pudge, or a lack of progress and be completely disgusted with what I’m seeing; prompting me to get energized and take on unhealthy, unsustainable activities like “cutting weight” as I did as a high school wrestler.
If you’ve hit that level of disgust, I tell you what, you need to channel that disgust in your favor. My pastor often says there are three types of believers; A non-believer, a believer and a lukewarm believer.
He adds that there is nothing worse than a lukewarm believer. They’re neither fully in or fully out. They have half their body in, and the other half out. The same applies here. Mild, lukewarm forms of disgust can kill your drive.
Disgust can Incapacitate
On the extreme end, you can go too far down that rabbit hole of disgust in yourself, you may not come out. You can get to a point where you don’t want to even try anymore. To a point where you feel like trying isn’t even worth the effort. You accept and embrace the phrase “Becasue I’m Fat and Lazy” as an adequate response to your shortcomings. You are so disgusted with yourself you become convinced that others might be as well.
You find yourself not wanting to be public places, like a gym, where others can project their disgust on to you with their side eyes. So, you do nothing. You continue your same habits and drift further away from the healthier, more ACTIVE you.
Equally so, you can grow so disgusted in yourself that you take on extreme, unhealthy, harmful behaviors. You did not all of a sudden put on 20, 30, 40, 50+ pounds. That took time, developing bad habits, not getting enough Physcial Activity and justifying it all.
What happened over months, even years, should not be undone overnight. It should be done deliberately and in a healthy manner. Substituing unhealthy behaviours (overeating, lack of physical activity) for other unhealty behviours (bulemia, anorexia, cutting weight, fast trendy unhealthy, unsustainable diets) will not have the long term healthy effects you desire and deserve.
Disgust Can Motivate
When you think of the word disgust and the emotional response that follows, positive action is not what comes to mind. But, if you take control of this emotion, rather than allow it to control you, it pushes you to where you don’t want to allow yourself to be in your current inactive, sedentary state.
That state is the state of being fed up with what and where you are in your health journey. This can will to productive feelings. When you’re disgusted with the mediocre dad bod you’ve grown over the years—because it takes years—you’re prime for action.
You’ve grown disgusted with the judgmental eyes of humiliation on you. You’re disgusted with the thought of your wife not seeing you as you once were. You’re disgusted with your daughter seeing the man you are now, versus the healthy father figure you know you can be.
The truth
I can’t change people, they must change themselves. Equally so, I can’t motiviate you. Different things motivate different people. I can find out what motivates you, I can inspire you, but you MUST motivate yourself!
My family is my motivator. Is it yours? Because of this, I have good reason behind my activitiies, therefore I find the motivation to push on.
This is the day! It is your “I’ve had it! No More! No longer!”. Nothing is more power than a deep-seated feeling of disgust.
SO USE IT!