Ever went to a gym class only to realize 15 minutes in that the workout was so intense you began debating on staying for only half of it? How about setting out to do a 6 mile run, and on mile 5 your mind starts playing games with you? It tells you, “Come on, just stop at 5 miles, you’ve run long enough for today.” Or even those dreaded times of going to a friend’s house after eating dinner only to see that she has snacks and desserts set out for everyone to enjoy. You know that you have already had what your body needs to fuel itself for the day, yet your mind is telling you, “Who cares, just eat as much as you want, you can start eating healthy again tomorrow.” Whatever the case may be, you have a choice to make. Is it an easy choice? 9 times out of 10, no. And depending on exactly how you respond to that choice, you will experience the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Although dealing with discipline and regret can relate to both eating a healthy diet and exercise, today let’s focus more on exercise.
What does it mean to experience the pain of regret with exercise? Let’s look at one scenario to give us a better understanding.
Tessa decided to start a training plan. The good old Hal Higdon marathon plan. She had the goal to train for a marathon for the next 18 weeks in hopes of competing in her first race. At first, running beyond 3 miles was very difficult. She felt winded and didn’t think she could go any further. But, after weeks of consistent training, she then was able to get up to 18 miles. However, she seemed to plateau there. Each time her training plan listed out for her to run more than that, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. It was hard enough running 18 miles and she did not want to go through the agony of running any further. “I’ll just keep running 18 miles for my long day runs because I’m most comfortable with it, and push myself to run 26 miles on race day.” When race day came, Tessa’s biggest fear became a reality. All of those times that she never pushed herself beyond 18 miles came back to haunt her. When mile 19 came up during the race, her body stopped and she had to walk a good ways until she could see that there were only a few miles left to go. Embarrassed by all the runners passing her, she had so much regret with the choice that she made during her training. If only during her training weeks she had pushed her body and mind through that discomfort, she would feel a sense of accomplishment right now rather than regret.
Have you ever felt like Tessa before? Whether it be with race training or a more intense exercise plan, have you found yourself wanting to quit halfway through just because it’s uncomfortable? Being uncomfortable has to do a lot with why we choose to stop mid-way through a workout. What many of us forget, is that there is a difference between being uncomfortable and being in actual physical pain. Sure, nobody likes to go do 25 squats and have their knees shaking, but unless you injure yourself during the process or have sore muscles to begin with, most of the time are you really in pain or are you just out of your comfort zone? That’s something to think about. When we set a goal for ourselves and then decide to quit halfway through, we feel regret immediately afterward. And when we start to quit things early on a regular basis, the guilt and pain can build up so much that it can hinder us from ever reaching our goals. While dealing with minor physical pain or being uncomfortable is only temporary during that time of pushing yourself , the emotional toll of regret that comes from quitting can last much longer.
But let’s now look on the flip side with the pain of discipline. Have you ever set out to do a workout that you knew would be difficult, but the thought of completing it would feel so rewarding? That desired feeling is exactly what drives us to endure the pain of discipline. Say you decide to go to a class at the gym that you know will be intense and put you out of your comfort zone. Five minutes in, your thinking to yourself, well maybe I can only go for half of the class. But then you think in the back of your mind, how great would it be to say that I finished the whole hour? You then decide to suck it up and discipline your body to endure whatever else may come. As soon as your class is finished you feel completely exhausted, your muscles ache, yet you love that feeling! This can be classified has an exercise high, or a runner’s high for all you runners out there. You just put your body through the most intense sweaty workout session that it has ever come into contact, and the fact that you feel like you could throw up makes you happy! Crazy? To some yes, but to many, you know exactly what I am talking about. We end our workout session feeling on top of the world. And to experience that feeling, all we did was endure the pain of disciplining our body and mind and pushed ourselves to go that extra mile.
Naturally, we all want to make the choice to discipline our body in a healthy way. We all love the feeling of success after pushing through something challenging, yet why do we many times fall short and give up at the half way point? The only reasonable answer that one can come up with is that we are human. It is in our nature to want to give up with any type of discomfort or fear comes in. So, how can you learn to make the choice to experience the pain of discipline rather than the pain of regret? One word: Visualization. This word is very key in my own personal life and can work for you as well. When it comes to your workout, let’s say you’ve got a plan to run further, faster, or complete any type of exercise that requires you to push through a barrier. If and when that moment comes to make a choice to keep going or quit, you must visualize that you have already completed the task you set out to do. In order to be successful at something, we have to place ourself in that position as if we have already obtained it. Allow your mind to imagine the feeling of success and triumph. Therefore, when you have to choose, your mind and body will crave that feeling of success.
Whether you have a goal to run a marathon or just amp up your workout level in general, in the end, the temporary pain of the discipline that you took in order to push through, far out weighs the pain of regret. Because honestly, who wants to sit around thinking about what they could have done?
What does the quote “The pain of discipline, or the pain of regret” mean to you?
What tips do you use in order to push through the feeling of giving up while doing a hard workout?
What does it mean to experience the pain of regret with exercise? Let’s look at one scenario to give us a better understanding.
Tessa decided to start a training plan. The good old Hal Higdon marathon plan. She had the goal to train for a marathon for the next 18 weeks in hopes of competing in her first race. At first, running beyond 3 miles was very difficult. She felt winded and didn’t think she could go any further. But, after weeks of consistent training, she then was able to get up to 18 miles. However, she seemed to plateau there. Each time her training plan listed out for her to run more than that, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. It was hard enough running 18 miles and she did not want to go through the agony of running any further. “I’ll just keep running 18 miles for my long day runs because I’m most comfortable with it, and push myself to run 26 miles on race day.” When race day came, Tessa’s biggest fear became a reality. All of those times that she never pushed herself beyond 18 miles came back to haunt her. When mile 19 came up during the race, her body stopped and she had to walk a good ways until she could see that there were only a few miles left to go. Embarrassed by all the runners passing her, she had so much regret with the choice that she made during her training. If only during her training weeks she had pushed her body and mind through that discomfort, she would feel a sense of accomplishment right now rather than regret.
Have you ever felt like Tessa before? Whether it be with race training or a more intense exercise plan, have you found yourself wanting to quit halfway through just because it’s uncomfortable? Being uncomfortable has to do a lot with why we choose to stop mid-way through a workout. What many of us forget, is that there is a difference between being uncomfortable and being in actual physical pain. Sure, nobody likes to go do 25 squats and have their knees shaking, but unless you injure yourself during the process or have sore muscles to begin with, most of the time are you really in pain or are you just out of your comfort zone? That’s something to think about. When we set a goal for ourselves and then decide to quit halfway through, we feel regret immediately afterward. And when we start to quit things early on a regular basis, the guilt and pain can build up so much that it can hinder us from ever reaching our goals. While dealing with minor physical pain or being uncomfortable is only temporary during that time of pushing yourself , the emotional toll of regret that comes from quitting can last much longer.
But let’s now look on the flip side with the pain of discipline. Have you ever set out to do a workout that you knew would be difficult, but the thought of completing it would feel so rewarding? That desired feeling is exactly what drives us to endure the pain of discipline. Say you decide to go to a class at the gym that you know will be intense and put you out of your comfort zone. Five minutes in, your thinking to yourself, well maybe I can only go for half of the class. But then you think in the back of your mind, how great would it be to say that I finished the whole hour? You then decide to suck it up and discipline your body to endure whatever else may come. As soon as your class is finished you feel completely exhausted, your muscles ache, yet you love that feeling! This can be classified has an exercise high, or a runner’s high for all you runners out there. You just put your body through the most intense sweaty workout session that it has ever come into contact, and the fact that you feel like you could throw up makes you happy! Crazy? To some yes, but to many, you know exactly what I am talking about. We end our workout session feeling on top of the world. And to experience that feeling, all we did was endure the pain of disciplining our body and mind and pushed ourselves to go that extra mile.
Whether you have a goal to run a marathon or just amp up your workout level in general, in the end, the temporary pain of the discipline that you took in order to push through, far out weighs the pain of regret. Because honestly, who wants to sit around thinking about what they could have done?
What does the quote “The pain of discipline, or the pain of regret” mean to you?
What tips do you use in order to push through the feeling of giving up while doing a hard workout?