What This Gym Equipment Taught Me About The Way We Use Language To Keep Motivated

I'm leaving on Thursday to go to Kenya to see my family for about 3 weeks, and I can't wait! I'll be sending out my weekly emails as usual, but if you'd like to see some pictures of our journey then connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook

For the past 2 months I've been going to one of the local gyms in my town because during the rest of the year I teach an aerobics class at our wellness centre. My goal this summer is to get back into strength training......and continue.

Here's my routine: before I start working on weights, I jump onto my favourite cardio equipment, because I love how it makes me feel and "talks to me".

My fav gym equipment

Ok, no it doesn't talk to me, but it uses smart language to keep me going. The area I've circled above is where it all happens.

As I start pedalling, after a few minutes a message will come and state that I'm 10% complete, then 20% complete, then 50% complete and so on. Imagine that you are on this gym equipment and you start seeing those messages, how do you feel?

Do you feel motivated to complete what you intended or give up?

With my background in Neuro Linguistics, I've learned that the words we use influence our behaviour. The message on this machine is not saying:

"You have 50% left" its stating that I've "completed 50%" and I'm almost done. Can you see or feel the difference? Does this make sense?

Now, map this analogy to your daily, weekly or monthly goals. Instead of saying that you have so much left to do, instead say, "I've accomplished (blank) so far and I'm on my way to complete it!"

Let me know what you think about this simple language change. I'd love to hear from you.

All my best,

Zaheen

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