20 Apr 2015 Leading the horse to water
by Karl Lenser
“No motivation can live where faith and courage are absent.” — Dr. George Sheehan
The old adage “You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make him/her drink it” suggests that one may try to guide a friend into some activity, but unless the friend really wants to do the activity, it probably won’t happen. I find that this is true within the world of health and fitness.
It all starts with motivation, and that is the key word in any exercise plan or program. Nothing will change without some sort of internal motivation or drive that sparks the fitness fire. And the motivation has to come from within you in order for any lifestyle changes to occur.
No changes will occur until you decide that there is a need or desire to change.
External motivators such as friends, spouses and co-workers can be very helpful in encouraging someone to lose weight or to start exercising. For example, inviting a sedentary, overweight friend to a group exercise class is a wonderful example of trying to “lead the horse to the water.” Verbally talking up the class and “selling” it to the friend is what you should do if you want to help your friend.
But as I mentioned earlier, the sedentary friend is the one that ultimately decides if he/she will attend the class. You can’t force the issue as this tactic rarely succeeds. Decisions for physical activity/exercise and diet have to come from within. Your body (nerves and muscles) will follow what the mind/brain dictates or initiates. Motivation comes from within.
Motivation is the need, drive or desire to act in a certain way to achieve a specific or certain end. What is also connected to this drive or desire is the setting of certain goals. In my example above, let’s assume the person who was invited to the group exercise class is definitely in need of weight loss (from the perspective of the friend that did the inviting). Weight loss should be a goal for this individual.
The problem arises when the sedentary/overweight person does not believe that he/she needs to lose any weight. “I am fine the way I am, so why bother exercising?”
Unfortunately what sometimes has to happen is that a major incident or event (heart attack, onset of diabetes, etc.) has to happen in order for someone to make a lifestyle change. My advice is to get moving now and don’t wait for something bad to happen to you. Get in a good habit now and take charge of your health and life. If you are moving, you are improving. Find your motivation. Get a workout partner. Set a few small, but realistic goals. Keep a fitness and/or nutrition journal and make a daily entry.
It takes motivation to spark the fitness fire. Once you have the motivation, the next step is to establish some goals and then focus on the three Ds: Desire, Dedication and Discipline. Remember that each day presents a new challenge and requires its own spur. Make every day a great day and take charge of your health and your life. Be an active player in the game of life because life is not a spectator sport.
A Conway resident, Karl Lenser is the director of wellness programs at Hendrix College. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. An accomplished runner, he can be reached at [email protected].
