In part 2 of this 3 part series on the magic of motion, we’re going to take a deeper dive into some of mother nature’s miracles that occur when you move your body with proper guidance.
Essentially, when you move your body a whole cascade of feel-good chemicals ramp up production, like serotonin and dopamine, which make you feel like you’re on top of the world, even if you’re unemployed and haven’t seen the sun for three months. This is the magic behind the motion, which can instantly change your emotions from sad to happy, cowering to courageous and fearful to confident.
Regardless of whether you already have an exercise program or not, it’s important to understand the underlying mechanics of your body and why a particular action could be a game changer for your confidence and overall success in life. Once you know the ‘why’ behind what you do, chances are you’ll be much more invested in taking action, which will give you a much better chance at creating long-term success.
Below are some more magical miracles of motion, which create some of the most coveted confidence highs. As you read them, notice if you struggle with any or if it may be time take a leap to the next level.
Beats Depression
Ever feel sad, stuck, depressed or down in the dumps? If so you’re not alone. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, over 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression, which includes over 17 million in the US alone.[i] Fortunately, there is good news because movement counteracts depression both directly and indirectly.
While moving your body gives you the direct effect of feel good endorphins, according to the Mayo Clinic, “Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence.” Later on, we’ll talk about stacking victories and meeting goals, for now, just know that moving your body creates a victory and makes you feel certain you can succeed.
Builds Self-Esteem – Makes You More Attractive
Again, according to the Mayo Clinic, “Getting in shape can make you feel better about your appearance.” So no matter what you look like or where you come from, exercising not only feels good but makes you look more attractive and builds your self-esteem.
If we simply think about a supermodel, the first thing you’ll notice about them is their physical appearance. While these people may appear highly confident, their confidence more often than not comes from their physical appearance rather than their talent. So while you don’t need to become a supermodel, becoming more attractive by improving your physical appearance can be done by anyone.
And for all you single people out there, from a primal perspective, becoming more attractive improves your chances of attracting a worthy mate who can reproduce healthy children.
Burns Fat
Naturally, the building of self-esteem just mentioned is directly linked to how much extra fat you can burn off your body.
In a review published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine, six researchers from Brazil and Britain found 36 studies that involved randomized experiments comparing the effects of endurance training and interval training.
While both forms of exercise resulted in shedding actual fat mass, and relative fat (lowered the percentage of their body mass that was fat) interval trainers dropped an average of 3.5 pounds of fat during most studies, versus roughly 2.5 pounds for moderate exercisers.
Clearly, exercise burns fat and builds confidence and we’ll get to the best methods for your personal circumstances shortly. For now, it’s important to continue building your desire and hunger for exercise by understanding more of its magical powers.
Strong = Confident
When I was in high school there was a guy named Michael who was unpopular and lacked self-confidence. He got picked on a lot and didn’t have many skills or interests in sports. One day while moping around the house feeling defeated from a recent rejection by a love interest, his father gave him a book on bodybuilding.
After reading it from cover to cover, he felt inspired and ran out to buy a gym membership where he began lifting weights daily. About six months later Michael had packed on around 30 pounds of muscle and started attracted lots of females, while at the same time scaring off those same guys who once picked on him.
And while you don’t need to become a bodybuilder to become confident, building strength makes you feel certain you can succeed even if the task is as simple as lifting the groceries or moving the furniture. Essentially, any increase in strength will automatically translate into more of that “high” and “certitude” from confidence.
Strengthens Your Soil with New Friends
Exercise and physical activity may give you the chance to meet or socialize with healthy people and improve your mood, lengthen your life as well as the quality of your life.
In a nine year follow up study of 7,000 men and women in Alameda County, California, researchers found that “people who were disconnected from others were roughly three times more likely to die during the nine-year study than people with strong social ties.”[ii]
While this result might not be so earth shattering, what surprised researchers most was the fact that “those with close social ties and unhealthful lifestyles (such as smoking, obesity and lack of exercise) actually lived longer than those with poor social ties but more healthful living habits.”
Unfortunately, being overweight and smoking lower your self-esteem and self-confidence. Bottom line… people with both healthy lifestyles and close social ties live the longest of all.
For more info on low self-esteem books and how to build more confidence check out the most comprehensive and easy to use guide: “Get High On Confidence” by Chad Scott.
References:
[i] US National Institute of Mental Health World Health Organization Website: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
[ii] Lisa Berkman Leonard Syme. SOCIAL Networks, Host Resistance, And Mortality: A Nine-Year Follow-Up Study Of Alameda County Residents American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 109, Issue 2, February 1979 doi.10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112674