As you get older, staying motivated to exercise becomes more and more challenging. On top of that, your physical prowess continues to wane. That being the case, it can be a spiritually demoralizing proposition to realize how much more you must do to simply maintain what you have.
The question is how much more will it take to simply get you moving?
This may seem obvious. But over the last couple of years, music has been my savior, not only to exercise but also for my mental health. When I’m exercising, especially jogging alone on a hot, hazy, and humid afternoon, I put on my favorite playlist (lots of hip-hop and rap) because the words and funky beats help keep my steps and in rhythm. When I’m working (writing, planning and thinking) I listen to music without words (classic and contemporary jazz) so I can completely focus on the task at hand. Then, when I’m in chill-out mode and winding the day down, I pick up my trumpet or guitar and play a few notes.
The purpose and power of music is to keep me in a relaxed state of mind. Since I work a ton of hours as you may, the agitation of the day can become unbearable. Continuing to claw your way to the top of your profession, along with being a good spouse and parent, wears you down little by little without realizing it. After the years zoom by you arrive at a point of deconditioning and it’s damn near impossible to turn everything around. A lot of the anxiety and anguish over the previous years could have been overcome by simply listening to a few melodies as we’re in action. But, now it’s time to look forward and make a change.
What we actually do is anchor, when we listen to music and perform some other task. You take something you immensely enjoy, like listening to music, and you anchor your exercise or work to it, something you may not be enjoying. This technique works in all aspects of your life, not only by anchoring activities to music but all types of other tasks.
If you formerly played an instrument, pick it up again. It will do wonders for your spirit and morale. Play as much music as you can and sing along with it, loudly—even if you sound horrible. Let the fire and passion come out and start exercising.
To move toward supreme physical fitness we must let the music play!
