I’ve been exercising on a daily basis for as long as I can remember, it gives me energy, it is my passion, it feels amazing and it’s detoxifying as we know. There are so many obvious health benefits like weight management, strength, endurance, heart health, etc, but really importantly your body also stays in shape/aligned and your body image improves. In my experience one of the greatest benefits is intangible though – the feel-good factor, which comes with all of this.
Not only does exercise release endorphins into your brain making you feel good but you know you look good too. We can pretend we don’t care but who doesn’t like being told they look good? It has certainly helped me feel more confident in life to get this feedback, not in a way that makes me vain but in a way that makes me feel happy/satisfied with my work and that puts me at ease with myself. We are all affected by our body images to some degree
Failing to exercise for any prolonged period causes reversibility of all these benefits though – the feel-good factor of the endorphins, the deterioration in body image, and consequently an inevitable impact on mental well-being. We’ve probably all experienced this at some time, I know I have. Maybe it’s just that clothes no longer fit as well, maybe your body loses alignment, maybe the skin or hair quality gets worse: all these things eat away at how good we feel about ourselves. Then because we are not feeling so good about ourselves, we don’t always get smiled at as much and we lose that positive reinforcement when we don’t look like the best version of ourselves. If this goes on too long our body image starts wearing our confidence down and this can even turn into depression and anxiety.
For some people it can be a lifelong challenge to maintain their self-confidence and well-being and feel good about themselves through exercise while for others it’s quite natural but it is possible for all of us.
I’ve seen people taking up challenges that I thought were impossible for them, yet they did it. What’s stopping you? Bad habits or friends or yourself?