HOW TO STOP TALKING YOURSELF OUT OF WORKING OUT
Updated: Sep 8
Make the Decision Before You're Tired
If you planned to work out and then talked yourself into thinking about skipping it, you already made the decision not to go. The problem begins when you reopen that decision because you feel tired, stressed, or unmotivated. When you ask yourself, "Do I still feel like going?" you build a convincing argument for skipping until going home feels like the right choice.
Greek philosophers had a word for acting against your own better judgement: akrasia (pronounced uh-KRAY-zee-uh). You know what you should do, yet temporary feelings help you argue your way out of doing it. You can stop that cycle expecting your usual arguments, deciding how you will respond and finding accountability for the commitment you already made.
At Vital Fitness Lakeland, you train alongside a coach who removes the guesswork (by writing your workouts) and surrounds you with positive people who give you another reason to show up. Your membership creates a new mindset that turns training into a healthy commitment and offers a plan to overcome a lack of willpower. This keeps you consistent long enough to see results.
TL;DR: You already decided to work out. When you start negotiating with a workout you already planned, expect your usual excuses (your "Siren songs)" and decide how you will respond, and ask someone who expects you to show up to hold you accountable.
Two Versions of You
Last night, you were a hero. While lying bed, you decided tomorrow would be the day you got back on track. You booked a class for after work and pictured yourself finishing you shift, crushing a workout, and heading home proud.
Then today happened.
Another brutal day at the office. Now you are exhausted and the motivation from last night has disappeared. All you can think about is driving home and collapsing on the couch. Suddenly, that familiar voice in your head starts looking for outs.
The Negotiations Begin
The negotiation gives you permission to choose immediate relief. "I'm exhausted" becomes "rest would be better for me." "I'll go tomorrow" makes skipping feel like rescheduling. By the end of the conversation in the car, you have turned breaking your commitment into a choice that feels reasonable.
Why You Procrastinate
Procrastination is nothing new. Greek philosophers Socrates and Aristotle used the word akrasia to describe this type of self-sabotaging behavior. It's when you know which choice would benefit you, yet you choose something else the moment.
So why does this keep happening?
Going home is the immediate reward. You get to relax right now. And the rewards of training (such as losing weight, building strength and feeling fitter) take weeks or months of consistent effort before you fully see the return on your investment.
Setting a goal is a promise to the Future You. When you are tired, Present You starts looking for loopholes in that commitment. Each time you reopen the decision you made earlier, you practice treating commitments as optional nd weken trust in your own word or promise.
The good news is that these arguments are usually predictable. You have heard your own excuses before. Once you know which ones to expect, you can decide how you will respond before the negotiation begins.
How to Stop Talking Yourself Out of a Workout
To break this cycle and stop talking yourself out of a workout, you need a system that reduces the willpower required when the negotiations start. Here are two ways to prepare for your predictable excuses and follow through on not skipping your workouts.
1. Expect the Negotiations Before it Begins
In Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus faced a similar problem. The Sirens used their songs to lure sailors toward their deaths. Odysseus knew that hearing them would overpower his judgement, so he told his crew to tie him to the ship's mast and refuse every demand to release him.
Once he heard the Sirens, Odysseus begged to be untied. His crew held him accountable and stayed true to his instructions he had given them before the temptation began.
Your Siren songs are the familiar arguments that pull you away from the workout you already planned:
"I'll just go tomorrow."
"I've already had a long day."
"I don't want to go to bed. I'll just drink more coffee and go."
"I'll just start fresh on Monday."
Expect those arguments and recognize it as a negotiation you have heard before. You do not need to reopen your commitment every time your feelings change.
Identify the excuses you repeatedly use and decide ahead of time how you will respond. Your plan should come from the version of you who was thinking clearly before exhaustion started building its case.
2. Build Your Own Mast by Making the Right Choice the Easiest Choice
The tall poles on a ship is called the mast. Your mast is the structure you put in place before the negotiation begins.
Book your workouts early: Choose your training days before the week begins. Put them on your calendar and treat them like an appointments you gave your word on to already attend.
Prepare before you need to leave: Pack your gym bag the night before and take it to work. Drive directly to the gym. When you're exhausted, your brain will choose the path of least resistance. Going home to hunt for socks, change clothes, and then drive back out into traffic gives you more time to argue your way out of training.
Give someone permission to expect you: Tell a coach or a training partner exactly when you will be at the gym. Like Odysseus' men they can hold you accountable when temptations begin. At Vital Fitness Lakeland, you have accountability built into your memberships and assigned a crew (a coach and a community).
Each part of your mast closes one of the exits you usually find during the negotiation.
End the Daily Debate
You have heard your Siren songs (excuses) before. You know which arguments appear when you feel tired, stressed, or short on time. Expect them.
Choose your training days, prepare what you need, and tell someone when you will be there. Decide ahead of time how you will respond when your usual excuses return.
Decide early. Identify and expect your sirens. Build your mast before they start singing. Then let the system carry you through the moment when going home feels easier.
Ready to build a routine that takes out the guesswork? Book a Free Intro today and together we will come up with a plan to keep you consistent.
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