How To Fight (and beat) Self-Doubt So You Become Fitter at 40+
The four essential steps you need to eliminate the fear in your inner voice.
You brain is among the most important muscles to exercise for improved fitness.
THE BRIEF
Time to read: 4 minutes 20 seconds
Time to action: 30 seconds
Mantra: True Form is about constant personal evolution
Main message: Biologically, there’s practically nothing you can't do at 40
Stat: 8/10 of us suffer from self-doubt. Don’t let anyone increase those odds
At the root of every piece of advice we offer is this simple anchor - 40 is not too old to improve. At FORM, we believe that our true form is one of constant personal evolution. The main barrier in being better, to being more (in whatever aspect you chose), is a belief that 40 is the age of decline. It probably was, once. But then the average life expectancy was 32, and once we believed that witchcraft was a real thing.
People are mostly wrong about the barriers to fitness over 40. Keep the mind strong and the body will follow is a mantra you should never lose. Use these tips to make your mind so strong that your body will have no choice but to up its game.
See Anger As Energy To Use
More often than not, it isn’t you underestimating you, but a recurring photocopy of a negative comment that reemerges with all the grace and dignity of a poop that simply won't flush. People who are too incapable or lazy to do what you’re trying to achieve are always the first to tell you that you can’t. As John Lyden famously told us - anger is an energy. Speak with actions. Let them underestimate you, then show them what you really are.
Find Strength In Similarity
Avoid finding difficulty in difference. It’s easy to feel that you are on a different fitness journey to others in the gym. Here’s the thing - simply by being in the same space together, you are already more alike than you are different. Do you know what percentage of the UK uses the gym? 14. That’s it. You and the person working out next to you are in that 14%.
Everyone there is trying to do the same thing - improve - an admirable part of the human experience. Ask questions. Get advice. Continue to educate yourself. Don’t forget the ‘bro’ in ‘broscience’. 99 times out of 100, people who know what they’re doing are delighted to help. It’s where the big gains are found.
Be Consistent In Your Purpose
Self-doubt and your fitness journey go hand-in-hand. That changes when you wander the gym with a strong sense of purpose. To keep your mind firmly set on self-realisation and progression, set goals and write them down. As you achieve them, set more. Divide them into present, mid-term, and long-term goals. Take joy in all your victories, from going 3 times a week to doing legs day properly - there is no shame in celebrating. You have to do it because you can. The little wins are what make for the big, big gains for body and mind.
Be Ready For Radical Acceptance
If you find the unflushable excrement of self-doubt continually resurfacing, it might be time to try something more radical. Radical acceptance is a part of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) that involves fully accepting the reality of your situation. Instead of resisting or denying what's happening, acknowledge it without judgement. Let go of the need for things to be different or for you to have greater control over everything. Focus on what you can control, such as your responses, attitudes, and actions. Understand that accepting reality doesn't mean you're giving up. It's about finding a more peaceful and effective way to navigate challenges. Practising radical acceptance can reduce self-doubt, decrease emotional suffering, and help you approach difficulties more resiliently.
DR DOG
(Mind Health)
A cognitive psychologist specialising in those most 21st Century of issues, anxiety and depression. Dog is especially good at delivering actionable answers. Removing the rhetoric and hyperbole and focussing simply and directly on practical information that can be used to help mental health on a daily basis.
ANTHROPOLOGY ANTELOPE
(Culture)
Sociology might have been ‘that degree’ in the way back when, but can you honestly think of a time when we needed to understand our society more than we do today? Antelope is the author of numerous thesis of the human condition and the nature of human interactions.
