In a spin class I found myself in the “not wanting” mentality. The music was not upbeat fitness tunes. The instructor did not believe in doing anything “wild and crazy” such as coming out of the saddle to climb a hill (all of which only makes since if you have taken a cycling class). The minutes seemed to drag on longer than 60 seconds.
You get the picture.
As I sat there peddling and pouting, it occurred to me I thought I was going into class without expectations; however, that’s clearly not the case.
I have taken spin classes before and therefore I expected this one to be like the others. Then I realized having expectations also sets us up for having disappointments. For example, a client of mine made the effort to eat well for the whole weekend and did more than normal physical activity only to hop on the scale Monday morning and find that she had gained 3 pounds – how frustrating!
When I noticed my bad attitude I decided that was bad energy and may be negatively affecting my fellow classmates.
I changed my attention on the things I am grateful for; such as having the time to go to class as well as having my health and physical ability to do spin and other exercises. This led to me taking time to be grateful for the things that I’ve taken for granted lately. Before I knew it we were cooling down and stretching.
Food for thought:
What isn’t meeting your expectations? Better yet, who isn’t meeting your expectations?
If you’re feeling disappointed in your body or yourself, I suggest you take a moment and think of five things about your body you are grateful for. Do you have 2 working legs? How about those gorgeous eyes?
This simple act can get us out of the negative feedback loop or the “I just don’t care anymore” attitude.
You do care. So do I. And for the record, I’m really proud of you.
