Why Don’t I Exercise?

There is a psychological reason behind it.

I have been trying to do exercise in the morning but am unable to do so for quite some time. If you search online then most articles shall talk about bringing discipline and forcing yourself to do so even if you don’t like it.

Yes, being tired is one of the reasons I do not exercise but the real reason is more psychological.

Being in the zone

In case you are involved in work that requires concentration then most probably you would need to go into a zone in order to subvert any negativity to have an effect on you while doing the work.

Being in the zone implies you create a shell around yourself and do not allow negative thoughts to bother you while you concentrate on your work.

“Creation of this shell requires quite some nervous energy”

For most people, this is how they are able to work — Create a mental shell that thwarts negativity present in their subconscious mind and then be able to concentrate on their task.

Exercise hinders the formation of the shell

After a person exercises the nervous energy that created the mental shell is reduced leading to the destruction of the shell thereby making the person come out of the zone.

When a person comes out of the zone then he may not be able to concentrate on his task. It may seem to be counterintuitive but that’s how the brain works.

It may be more evident for student life. During an examination, quite a lot of students need to get into a zone and only then are able to study. Hence they would not like to exercise during exam times so that they are able to maintain the mental shell within which they can concentrate on their studies.

How do I overcome it?

In order to overcome this psychological mechanism one needs to ask some very basic questions:

Do I really like the work? Most likely the task that one carries out during the day may not be what the person is interested in. One needs to reevaluate his likings and make a shift if it is possible.

Subconscious fears: I think this is what is neglected by most people. Our subconscious fears are so strong that they paralyze the normal functioning of the brain and one has to get into a zone in order to be productive.

When we are not in the zone these negativities from various parts of the subconscious mind would not allow the person to concentrate. Catharsis and refinement of the inner child are one of the ways using which a person can remove the subconscious fears one at a time and bring about positive change in his life.

When the subconscious fears get reduced, the ability of the person to concentrate on a task without the need for creating a mental shell, increases.

“The person would then not be bothered if the mental shell is broken and doing exercise shall seem quite natural for him.”

Conclusion

Doing exercise may make a person feel better but unfortunately, this is detrimental to people who need to enter a zone in order to accomplish tasks. Such people normally would avoid doing exercise and would sleep all through the morning. By employing the process of catharsis and refinement of the inner child one can reduce the number of subconscious fears existing in the psyche and naturally bring down the need to create a mental shell to thwart negativity from the mind. After this, there will be a natural desire to do exercise. Of course, some bit of discipline is also necessary in the beginning to break the habit but if someone addresses the psychological cause then bringing in discipline is comparatively easy. My best wishes to everyone in following this path and being able to exercise daily.