This will keep you on the path of healthy living

I was doing my morning jog when I had an insight about a key factor that can keep us on the path of healthy living. Many people think that discipline and motivation are the two biggest players but in my experience, it’s actually something else that will highly influence your healthy habits: KINDNESS.

As I was jogging for the first time of the season, I was doing okay taking my time and resting every so often. Then, all of a sudden someone passed by me running way faster. My initial thought was “Wow, I really need to get into better shape, I’m going way to slow” but then I caught myself and sent myself kindness.

I’m jogging because health and happiness are core values for me so having a negative dialog while jogging is totally counter productive (plus I don’t deserve that inner mean girl talk). So I replaced that harsh thought with a kind one:

I am doing something good for myself. I am moving and getting fresh air. That should be celebrated, not criticized.

And just like that I realized that kindness was the most important ingredient to staying on the path of healthy living. If you are harsh with yourself, that negative energy is draining and not at all motivating so you are likely to not feel very inspired to workout again if you just say nasty things to yourself while doing it. Makes sense right?

What are your thoughts on how you treat yourself when it comes to exercise and staying healthy? If you want to dive deeper into this topic, you can read this post on how I got into the best shape of my life. I share a bunch of tips from what I eat in the morning to the mindset I adopted to stay fit. Geneviève xo