It’s so cold I can see my breath, but I am sweating — what’s going on here?

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[tweetmeme]In about three weeks, I’ll be celebrating the tenth anniversary of one of the most critical moments of my life.  It was in early March of 2002 when I got off of the couch and signed up for a membership at a nearby gym.  By March of 2003, I was seventy pounds lighter, and so much happier.

One of the main ways I got the weight off (and kept it off since) is by running…I greatly enjoy running, but let me tell you, when it comes to winters here in Wisconsin, I don’t like running in the cold. In the ten years that I have been running regularly, I had never run in temperatures below 40 degrees…Never…

My rule of thumb has always been that if it’s under 50 degrees and I want to run, I am doing it indoors. I usually experienced discomfort when breathing when it started to get colder outside, and I didn’t like to bundle up only to get warm and uncomfortable during the run because of all the layers of clothes.  I didn’t like wearing too little and then be uncomfortable and cold during the duration of the run either.  Simply put, it was just easier and more comfortable running inside than outside during the cold winters.

Well, yesterday I did it!  I decided, almost on a whim, to go out.  It was in the low to mid 30s outside (which is pretty mild for a Wisconsin February day), and I ran my usual, warm-weather route.  It felt great, with exception to my cold ears in the early leg of the run.  After I got going, however, they warmed up.  I think the only thing I would have done differently is put on a hat for the early part of the run.

Until yesterday, I was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of running in cold weather.  It’s not that I didn’t think I could do it — I just didn’t feel comfortable doing it because the perceived physical discomfort I believed I would experience while running in cold weather.  It got me thinking about the concept of change and trying new things, and why it is so hard to accept change sometimes, and why we resist change and the thought of trying something new and uncomfortable.

Our brains (and the mind within) were developed with the purpose of not only thriving, but surviving.  While our conscious minds deal with our everyday interactions at the obvious conscious level, our unconscious mind takes care of making sure we are safe.  Our conscious mind knows that we should do things, like watch what we eat, lose weight, stop smoking, and the like, but it has to actually convince our unconscious mind that it is a good idea to make a change.

This “sales pitch,” however, is a tough one.  The unconscious mind, as mentioned above, has survival down as its most important responsibility.  It likes comfort, consistency, and safety.  Our unconscious mind comes up with great excuses as to why it’s a great idea to just keep on with the status quo, because, after all, it was the status quo that allowed us to survive to see today.

Well, today my conscious mind carried the day — it was able to “pitch” a winner to my unconscious mind, to the point where it actually was convinced that it would be a good idea to venture out of the comfortable and familiar and take a run.  Consciously, I understand the benefits of exercise and why I should do it, but I am guessing the pizza that I ate the night before and the left-over pizza I ate today didn’t hurt when it came to coming up with a compelling case as to why I really felt the need for the run! 🙂

By pushing past the uncomfortable, I did a few things — I realized how my perception was skewed (and wrong); I could obviously run in cold weather, but my (somewhat unconscious) excuses to avoid it kept me from doing so.  I realized that I could actually do it, so now I can’t say that I never ran in the cold ever again.  I also felt good about doing it, so I got a boost of healthy positive self-esteem, and confidence in myself that I can venture outside of the uncomfortable in another way in the future and achieve success.

Is there something that your conscious mind knows should change, but find that your unconscious mind is continually ignoring the conscious request?  Is there something you want to try, but fear venturing into the uncomfortable?

I challenge you to find something that you know you need to change, and I challenge you to take a small step toward making that change a reality.  It’s not always easy — you really need to allow for about 10 to 14 days of repeated “nudging” by the conscious mind before the unconscious mind finally gives in and agrees to go along with the suggestions of the conscious mind.  The road may be long and hard, but trust me, great things lie ahead if you can convince your unconscious mind to make the change you consciously know you want to make!

I wish you the best in embracing change today!  Who knows?  Maybe today will be the start of something great!

Take care, and best wishes!  Have a great week!

-Victor

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