You’re Not Lazy, You’re Terrified

I said this to a friend recently when I was trying trying to explain the real reason why so many women struggle to find the “motivation” and “willpower” to consistently workout.

And it’s not because they’re lazy.

I’ve been working in fitness for over 10 years and have worked with hundreds of women. I can say with 100% confidence that discipline is not the problem- a very deeply embedded fear is.

I strongly believe that we get a benefit – albeit oftentimes a subconscious one- from every choice we make, even if we’re choosing to do the thing we say we don’t want.

For example, if you say you want to workout 3 times a week, but you find yourself avoiding the gym and instead binge watching Netflix, you get a benefit from this choice.

The first step in overcoming the hurdle to having what you want is uncovering the subconscious fear that’s stopping you.

Maybe you choose the TV over the gym because then you don’t have to risk failing, or feeling embarrassed, or feeling the physical discomfort of exercise, or maybe there’s a sense of protection that your current body offers your psyche, or maybe you’re afraid of what might get shaken up when you start moving.

The most important thing is having compassion and curiosity towards all parts of yourself as you begin to ask these questions.

If you want to get to the root cause, I encourage you to find a quiet, private place and practice this exercise: click here to access a short guided meditation

Journal Prompts:

• What was the sensation you felt in your body?
• When was the first time you remember feeling this?
• What did this part have to say to you? What was the job that it thought it was doing?
• What did it say it would rather do if it didn’t have to do this job anymore?
• Was there anything else that came up for you that you’d like to remember?