The Pursuit of Happiness...

 

The Pursuit of Happiness

Why, when I have decades as a fitness coach and tutor, have I suddenly swapped reps, rates and resistance for an unmeasurable feeling? Why indeed…much of this lies in the emerging science that is now showing how the human body reaches its goals, or even, fails to reach its goals. I have always been fascinated by the human mind – that was my main driver when I completed a second degree at the age of 40. I was confused as to why with all of my skills as a coach, my clients found sticking at a programme challenging. I initially did the psychology modules only for this reason, and did my dissertation around motivation to exercise. I find it intriguing…

Think of a cup of tea. You want a cup of tea. You have a vision of a cup of tea in your head.  But in order to get that cup of tea, you have to follow certain steps… you need a cup, a spoon, some milk maybe, definitely a tea bag, hot water, and don’t forget some boiling water!  You know you like a cup of tea, and so you ensure that you have these items at hand to enable you to sit down, enjoy your tea and a little moment of happiness.

As you read that, many of you may have had an image in your head of that happy sit down with tea feeling, or some of you might well be motivated to go and get a cup of tea straight away. This is the power of the mind. The pursuit of happiness. The reach of your goal by having everything in place to get there. How many of you know the frustration of making the tea and then going to the fridge and finding no milk, or that the milk has turned!

The powerful harnessing of our brain, neurotransmitters and hormones drives a human to do the thing that they want to do. Enables them to make habits from events that bring pleasure. This to me has been the key in the pursuit of happiness.

Reps, Rate, Resistance are still part of this – but these are the elements to reach the end goal and the impetus to change lies within the deep cortex of the brain. How to harness that power is key.

The cup of tea analogy (and cup stain on my logo) is all part of my own coaching ethos, driven by science, with both physical fitness and mental health being part of the  “pursuit of happiness”. Going to the Café to get the tea, to sit and talk, to be in a happy place.  It is also why I have called it “Happy Café Hapus” (and let’s keep that Welsh in there always x)

Happy Café Hapus May/Mai 2021 – 1-30^th May – message me for details of the next course