For most of my life, exercise was something I did mainly for it\u2019s shallow benefits.<\/p>\n
Yeah, I know it\u2019s supposed to be \u201cgood\u201d for you and all that jazz\u2026but really, I just wanted to look decent with my shirt off.<\/p>\n
Hey, you know you do too!<\/p>\n
But recently, I\u2019ve made a big shift in how I view exercise – and it\u2019s made a world of difference:<\/p>\n
These days, I workout to FEEL good rather than LOOK good.<\/strong><\/p>\n It sounds insignificant but it\u2019s made a huge impact on my life.<\/p>\n I know that exercise\u2019s benefits as a mood\/energy booster and stress reducer are well known. But for some reason, I always saw those as SECONDARY benefits.<\/p>\n But lately, I\u2019ve become more attuned to how powerfully exercise affects my emotional state, my mental acuity, and my stress levels.<\/p>\n In other words, the factors that contribute directly to HAPPINESS.<\/p>\n Once I made that connection, it was hard not to see that as the PRIMARY benefit.<\/p>\n My friend Jesse has a similar viewpoint. When he was going through an extremely trying time in his life, he said only two things got him through: meditation and exercise.<\/p>\n And when he recently hurt his ankle, he was bummed – but not because he\u2019d put on some pounds or miss his weekly basketball games. The first thought in his head was, \u201cCrap, I\u2019m gonna be sad!\u201d<\/p>\n People have always recommended working out as an antidote to depression, but that was something I always kinda rolled my eyes at – like the suggestion to drink 8 glasses of water a day (which, by the way, you should also do).<\/p>\n But over the past few years, as I\u2019ve had to struggle with the depressive effects of hypothyroidism, I\u2019ve become keenly attuned to my daily emotional states.<\/p>\n The days I workout – even for a short 5 minutes – versus the days I don\u2019t, are in stark contrast. <\/p>\n Even a quick workout will get the blood moving, boost energy and motivation, and bring in a flood of feel-good endorphins.<\/p>\n When I was working out regularly vs. not, it was amazing how differently the world would look and feel – and what kind of thoughts and decisions I\u2019d make. <\/p>\n Look, getting your sweat on is not going to fix everything or cure depression. But it helps. Greatly.<\/p>\n At a bare minimum, it\u2019ll elevate your daily emotional baseline by a few notches.<\/p>\n From there, it becomes that much easier to tackle everything else in life.<\/p>\n And ironically – the more I focused on FEELING good rather than looking good – my body ended up getting into the best shape of it\u2019s life!<\/strong><\/p>\n Funny how that works, huh? But it makes complete sense. <\/p>\n See, workouts used to be something I dreaded.<\/p>\n When the goal was nebulous (to be \u201chealthier\u201d) and far off into the future (to look good for summer), it was easy to lose motivation. <\/p>\n And when I was only doing it for a distant payoff, the workouts became a grind. A grueling to-do item I had to check off for some long-term goal.<\/p>\n Ugh.<\/p>\n But when the goal was to FEEL good, the payoff became IMMEDIATE!<\/p>\n I knew that right after a workout, my endorphins would flood, my energy would peak, and I\u2019d feel fucking ALIVE.<\/p>\n When this became the focus, workouts became addicting. And something I began to look forward to.<\/p>\n