There is a definite connection between the physical laws of inertia, a body in motion
tends to stay in motion and the psychological components of inertia it's like when we become
sedentary it's very difficult to begin moving again and to become motivated once more.
And it's not just emotional, it's also physiological.
Depression and feeling sedentary and feeling down and engaging once again in being hopeful,
because essentially that's what motivation does require, can become a bit like a spider
web.
So in The Six Keys one of the major pathways we need to travel down is comprehending the
connection between the state of our mind and how it very tangibly affects our bodies.
When you look at something like depression or sadness or tragedy that kind of emotional
stress we see that it literally changes our brain, it shrinks the size of our amygdala,
our hippocampus, it shifts the ratios between gray matter and white matter, it changes our
brain chemistry.
And what all of these physiological changes do is essentially gear us to be more impulsive,
less emotional regulation, more prone to depression and these thoughts then, of course, leading
to our behaviors, which dictate the outcome of our reality.
So, as I mentioned it's a bit of a black hole so to speak so how do we turn it around?
And it has to be something in my opinion that is fought on a myriad of fronts.
First and foremost we need to establish a why, so we're going to look at the actual
psychology of motivation.
I believe it was Nietzsche who said, "If you have a why to live for you can tolerate the
how."
Because anything worth having, be in a healthy marriage, a thriving career, a healthy body,
is going to require work and sacrifice.
But work with purpose is passion; work without purpose is punishing and a lot of us already
feel very punished by the rigors of our daily lives.
So forming a very concrete goal, not just health, what does that even mean?
How do you emotionally connect to being healthy?
Somebody says well don't have that pizza tonight and don't watch How to Make a Murderer season
two and you'll be healthy like that's not sexy.
However, if it was hey you know what, give me 20 minutes in your living room with a quick
exercise routine and get the sauce on the XY or Z meal you just ordered on the side,
forgo the soda, get water instead and you're going to fit into those skinny jeans, have
sex with the lights on with confidence, although I think that's greatly overrated, it's light
at least 12 hours out of your day so why not open up your options?
I mean walk your daughter down the aisle or look good in your wedding dress or meet your
great, great grandchildren, watch humans land on Mars.
I don't care what your reason is.
It doesn't matter how profound it is, it doesn't matter how superficial it is, but it has to
move you and you have to care because that's what makes that work in order to achieve it
more manageable and turns it into passion versus punishment.
At the same time how do we make this concept neural plasticity work for us instead of against
us?
How do we change our brain chemistry and the shape and size of various parts of our brain
so that we're more prone to positivity and hopefulness as opposed to nihilism?
Well, things like meditation, these mind-body interventions, and for the longest time I
was like I live in L.A. like I can't hear this one more time.
You know what's going to stress me out?
Wasting five minutes chanting in my car on my lunch hour when I have stuff to do.
But the evidence is overwhelming and we see that five minutes even of meditation, I don't
care when you get it in if it's in the morning, if it's at night, if it's in your lunch hour
even if you suck at it, download an app, be consistent with it and over time we see that
it helps to shift the physiology of our brain so we are more geared towards happiness, purpose
and meaning.
And in fact when we look at it holistically, in conjunction with that ball getting rolling
so now maybe you've got just enough motivation to take that first step and you're moving.
So the first step at the gym, the first one is always the hardest because now that body
in motion stays in motion, now you're motivated to a certain extent, you're starting to see
results.
The fears and concerns with breaking out of that comfort zone have abated because you
already went and you did it.
Maybe you're uncomfortable at the gym, you're done with feeling uncomfortable at the gym
you survived it; you're ready to go back tomorrow; the world is not going to end.
You're eating a little bit healthier and all of those micronutrients are gearing your brain
chemistry for the better and not the worst.
So each and every step in the right direction is what begets more success.
So it's a holistic and a cumulative approach that's going to yield those positive results.
And then of course, once you're emotionally and physically in motion it's much easier
to stay in motion.