{"id":29297,"date":"2022-03-11T10:16:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T18:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/?p=29297"},"modified":"2022-03-08T09:05:27","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T17:05:27","slug":"the-essential-ingredient-to-sticking-with-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/the-essential-ingredient-to-sticking-with-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Essential Ingredient to Sticking With It\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve got this \u201cspecial sauce,\u201d you\u2019ll overcome any obstacles placed in your way to perform your best\u2026<\/span>anytime<\/span><\/i>!\u00a0 Regardless of whether it\u2019s sticking with lifestyle change to improve your health, a nutrition plan, cutting back on smoking or drinking, adhering to a medication regimen, following through with physical therapy appointments, or adhering to an exercise program, this essential ingredient will make all of the difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nIt\u2019s called \u201c<\/span>self-efficacy<\/span><\/i>.\u201d It\u2019s a fancy term that very simply means the confidence you believe you have in your ability to perform a task, produce at a high level of performance, and to influence events in your life.\u00a0 The amount of this power juice you have determines how you feel, what you think, how motivated you will be to, let\u2019s say, exercise, and in fact how long you stick with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t you prefer to be motivated and committed to a lifelong healthy lifestyle, feel non-anxious, non-depressed, social, happy, filled with self-esteem and optimistic?\u00a0 It\u2019s what self-efficacy builds.\u00a0 Pretty important substance, don\u2019t you agree?<\/span><\/p>\n

The US Centers for Disease Control tells us that most Americans do not get enough physical activity to maintain valuable health benefits.\u00a0 Know what many if not most are missing? That\u2019s right\u2026self-efficacy!<\/i> They just don\u2019t believe in their ability to exercise. Of course, there are many more reasons but let\u2019s zero in on this key factor. After all, \u201cIf the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Believe you can walk on a treadmill for 45 minutes? You\u2019re more likely to begin, and stick with it, than if you believe, \u201cI\u2019ll never be able to last for 10 minutes, let alone 45 minutes.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Personal experience \u2013 your past successes improve your belief that you can do it again<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Vicarious experience \u2013 this is the, \u201cIf she or he can do it, I can do it\u201d belief that comes from seeing others who are similar to us, succeed<\/li>\n
  3. Verbal persuasion \u2013 who doesn\u2019t like compliments, high-fives, encouragement, and other positive reinforcements?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Physiological arousal \u2013 this is the meaning you give to your \u201cbutterflies\u201d before you do a heavy lift, run a race, or even speak in public\u2026think it\u2019s normal to be a bit nervous before a challenge? That\u2019ll increase your self-efficacy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Self-efficacy isn\u2019t something we are born with.\u00a0 It takes developing.\u00a0 There are four primary sources to cultivate this key factor in motivation and perseverance:<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s a quick 10 item scale, the \u201cGeneral Self-Efficacy Scale,\u201d you can use right now to measure your self-efficacy tank<\/strong>.\u00a0 It\u2019ll take about 5 minutes and is appropriate for ages 12 and up.<\/p>\n

    Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 4:<\/span><\/p>\n

    1=Not at all true, 2=Hardly true, 3=Moderately true, 4=Exactly true<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. If someone opposes me, I can find them means and ways to get what I want<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen situations<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort<\/span><\/li>\n
    6. I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my coping abilities<\/span><\/li>\n
    7. When I am confronted with a problem, I can usually find several solutions<\/span><\/li>\n
    8. If I am in trouble, I can usually think of a solution<\/li>\n
    9. I can usually handle whatever comes my way<\/li>\n
    10. It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Scoring is easy\u2014the higher your score, 10-40, the greater your level of self-efficacy and the greater is the likelihood that you\u2019ll stick with your exercise and health promotion activities, have favorable emotions, be optimistic and have more satisfaction in your daily life.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \"\"
      \nHere are some tips to build up your self-efficacy:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
        \n
      1. Challenge your negative self-assumptions \u2013 Is my thought true? Would a kind and helpful person say this to another person? If not, what makes me say this to myself? What do I get out of thinking this about myself? If I make myself feel badly, or abandon a healthy lifestyle, by thinking this way about myself, what\u2019s stopping me from not stop thinking like this? Make a list of at least five of your strengths.<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Ensure early success \u2013 choose activities that you know for certain you\u2019ll be successful in, then slowly move up the ladder, each time, achieving more and more to build your self-confidence and the \u201cI can do it\u201d attitude.<\/li>\n
      3. Watch others succeed in the activity you want to take on \u2013 better if they are similar to you, so neighbors, friends, co-workers, gym-mates all can give you the boost in your self-efficacy level. Be careful, though, to compare yourself to those who are way ahead \u2013 compare and despair. And remember, they began as a beginner too.<\/li>\n
      4. Find a supportive voice \u2013 experienced personal trainers\/well-trained health coaches are skilled in helping others find appropriate self-encouragement. Just be sure the feedback you hear is valid, realistic, individually tailored and about the progress you<\/i> are making, not comparing you to others.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n

        Michael R. Mantell<\/strong> earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and his M.S. at Hahnemann Medical College, where he wrote his thesis on the psychological aspects of obesity. He served as the Senior Fitness Consultant for Behavioral Sciences for the American Council on Exercise, the Chief Behavior Science consultant to the Premier Fitness Camp at Omni La Costa and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Council on Active Aging, a best-selling author, an international behavior science fitness keynote presenter, an Advisor to numerous fitness-health organizations, and is featured in many media broadcasts and fitness publications. Dr. Mantell is a nationally sought-after behavioral science coach for business leaders, elite amateur and professional athletes, individuals and families. He is listed is listed in the 2013 \u201cThe 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        If you\u2019ve got this \u201cspecial sauce,\u201d you\u2019ll overcome any obstacles placed in your way to perform your best\u2026anytime!\u00a0 Regardless of whether it\u2019s sticking with lifestyle change to improve your health, a nutrition plan, cutting back on smoking or drinking, adhering to a medication regimen, following through with physical therapy appointments, or adhering to an exercise program, this essential ingredient will make all of the difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":29303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[292,54,198,193,16],"class_list":["post-29297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-allied-health","tag-exercise","tag-fitness-professionals","tag-healthy-aging","tag-medical-fitness"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/367"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29297"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31641,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29297\/revisions\/31641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}