How to be motivated to keep active
How to be motivated to keep active
Keep motivated to keep active!
It can be hard to stay motivated to be active. Exercise is a very personal thing. Some love it, and others hate it!
But exercising and keeping active are important parts of managing lung cancer. Whether we have just been diagnosed or were diagnosed a while ago, we all gain from being active.
The most important thing is to find out what works for us. Here are some tips and pointers to keep motivated.
Setting and establishing goals can be a good starting point, especially if there is something we can no longer do (due to physical health) that we would like to get back to in the future. Making our goals specific (such as getting back to the golf course) will help us clarify our aims.
Doing something that we enjoy is important and the most likely factor to ensure we can sustain this activity in the long term. Perhaps make a list of what physical activities we enjoy and soon we will be able to identify the activities that are both enjoyable and keep us fit.
Is there a hobby we used to do and could restart? Depending on our current abilities, we may need to alter how we complete this hobby, but with a little work we will soon be able to work out how best to return to what we enjoy - especially if this involves physical activity.
Getting someone to exercise with us makes the experience more social. Maybe a neighbour or friend can join us on our daily walks or exercise routine? They too will stand to gain benefits from being active.
If we enjoy listening to music, podcasts or audiobooks, then listening during our exercise regime can help take our focus away and improve on the time we spend exercising.
One important aspect is to ensure our exercise easily fits into our daily schedule. If we stop for a morning tea break each day maybe this could change into a morning walk. If we need to go down to the local shops, maybe we could walk rather than drive? Or get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way?
Many of us have a competitive side. Can we build in some competition into our exercise regime to track our progress? If we have a smartphone or activity tracker (like a Fitbit), we could use this to track our daily steps. Why not compete with our friends too?
Remember we can always chat with our healthcare professionals about exercise.
Having a clear goal is a strong motivating factor!
September 2022
Ms Cathering Granger has no disclosures to report.