Fitness Tips-Making an attitude adjustment – Wicked Local Westwood

Do you ever feel off of your game?

These past couple of weeks I have been in a funk. Like an eager private detective without a lead to move on I have toiled over what went wrong. Something or something had to be the cause of my bad mood and I was intent on uncovering the culprit. The harder I searched the worse I felt. That brings me to my point.

Sometimes the only way out of a problem is to move past it. Whether you are dealing with a negative person, physical injury, a job, or another setback that is preventing you from feeling or being your best it is up to you to decide to change.

Am I saying that you should get busy changing the circumstances? Of course not! Since circumstances are almost always out of our sphere of influence it is up to us to change the one thing that we do have control of: our attitude.

There is only one cause of a bad mood as far as I am concerned; I call it “stinkin’ thinking.’” “Stinkin’ thinking,’” or a negative-charged perspective does nothing to improve your mood. Focusing upon the negative is fruitless endeavor that is based upon the flawed logic that pointing out the inherent flaws of a situation will somehow improve it.

As silly as it sounds, many of us are guilty of falling into this frame of mind. Unfortunately, I have found that the more I focus on the negative in my life, the more negativity I see- talk about a horrible cycle to be locked in to.

Happiness is a conscious decision to focus on the positive perspective of the circumstance placed before us. The cliché of the glass being half-full, or half-empty is a terrific example of this principle.

Another example of this is the story of the two shoe saleswomen in Africa. When the first calls her boss back in Boston she says: “Hugh, we’d be lucky to sell a pair of socks to these people; nobody here wears any shoes.” Now compare that to the response of the second: “Nick, call the manufacturer and double the order. You’re not going to believe this- nobody here wears any shoes!” The moral of the story: there are two sides to every circumstance, but good can only come out of a positive outlook.

The act of practicing active gratitude is a terrific practice to escape a case of the “stinkin’ thinkin’s.” Remembering to appreciate what we have is always a great idea. Remember that regardless of your fitness goal everything starts as an emotion. Emotions become thoughts and thoughts become actions.

Page 2 of 2 – So, if you are looking to make a healthy change in your life look to your attitude first, it may be time for an attitude adjustment.

Coach Chris McHugh is the fitness coach and manager at Get In Shape For Women in Westwood. Please send questions, suggestions, or topic ideas to ChrismcHugh@getinshapeforwomen.com.