I Like To Move It, Move It

Perhaps you have heard of the song, “I Like To Move It, Move It.” It was featured in the animated Madagascar movies. Upon hearing the beat, I, quickly want to get jiggy with it. You?

Summer is coming, and most of us relate the season with getting out of our stuffy homes and sucking up some Vitamin D. In certain parts of the world, people have been hibernating since last fall. For some of you, your excitement has been mounting as you look forward to your annual Griswold family vacation.

I think of scrumptious fruits and vibrant veggies. Whereas others are excited about family reunions and Big Daddy’s BBQ. I also brace for a few potential hurricanes. Don’t tell me – “To Move it, Move it out of Florida.” I am good.

Regardless of your summer plans, it is a wonderful time to “move” more. There are so many more options.

The definition of the word move is to change direction, manner, or state. Let’s make a shift or direction change in a few areas of your life. We can start with nutrition, exercise, and mindset.

I recommend you create attainable goals. I also recommend you anchor those goals with the support of an accountability partner as well as a reward or unrewards system. And most of all, I recommend that you have fun. Being healthy does NOT need to be dreadful. Why is being healthy viewed as such?

The more creative you are, the more fun you will have. You will also increase the fun factor by designing challenges or goals with family and friends.

Having a buddy or two will increase your success rate by 65-75%. Your buddy is there to assist you or drag you to success. Sometimes it is kicking and screaming. Most people set up a buddy system just to cancel the plan two weeks later. The bottom line is we humans want control of when and what we do. When we become tired or when the excuse monger shows up, we don’t want to perform. Keep your buddy!

Secondly, anchor this habit change to a reward or unreward. What does that mean? A few examples of reward anchors, “If I meet this goal, I can go to the theatre with my daughter.” [or buy a new exercise outfit or take that get-a-way with my hubby, etc.]

Unreward anchor examples might look like these,  “If I miss the intended goal, I need to do the yard work for a month.” [or watch golf with my partner for four Sundays (if you don’t like that) or clean my teenage son’s room, etc.]

Anchoring elevates your actions to your desired outcomes. It is like anchoring your boat to the bottom of the sea. Your intent is to stay connected. Create your challenge/goal to something you deeply desire or something you deeply do not desire. The point – you are being “tricked” into keeping your promises and reaping the benefits of such.

We humans keep promises to others before we will keep them to ourselves. Aligning your healthy goals with an accountability team and anchoring them to a reward or unreward system will help you keep your promises.

Each week for the next month, create an attainable goal. To increase your success, choose an accountability person or persons, and create a reward or unreward.

Your weeks might look something like this.

Moving is not just about our body. Our brains adjust rapidly. Complacency is the death of progress. Boredom is not a friend. Staying in your comfort zone prohibits growth. So, let’s Move It, Move it, this summer.