How Working Out Improves Self Confidence and Self Determination with This Mindset Change

(And no, it has nothing to do with changes in physical appearances)

We all know that working out has amazing benefits for the body.

It’s one of the best ways to improve cardiovascular health and increase overall wellness.

But some benefits of working out are much more subtle than bigger muscles or increased stamina.

Keep reading to learn how working out can improve mental wellbeing, and help you be more confident, more resilient, and more determined instantly.

What are the Mental Benefits of Working out

While there are many physical benefits to working out, such as lowered blood pressure and increased cardiovascular health, let’s get into the mental benefits!

Working out can help you reduce stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression.

Regular exercise will also improve the quality of sleep, reducing insomnia and helping you get a deeper, more restful sleep! 

Workouts will also boost self-confidence, in ways that are not related to physical appearance, increase self-esteem, and improve self-efficacy.

These last three will be our focus today.

What Does Working out Do to the Brain

Working out can cause changes in brain chemistry!

Working out releases endorphins that make us feel good.

This is what’s called a runner’s high.

These chemicals actually interact with the brain, reducing your feeling of pain, and can make you feel joyous.

Honestly, without that mental boost, who would actually like working out?

But what about when the endorphins just aren’t flooding in, and you feel all the pain, the hardship, of working out? Do you just chant no pain no gain until you feel better? Do you rest and recover? Do you change your workout?

How you react to tough points in a workout can help you become a better, mentally stronger person, with more confidence, more belief in yourself, and more self-respect.

Check out how below.

The Psychology of Believing in Yourself and How Working out Helps

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,” Henry Ford.

This quote emphasizes how much attitude can help determine whether you succeed or fail.

If you think you can’t do something, chances are you will not be able to.

And the opposite is true.

If you think you can, if you think you can run a little more, 30 more seconds even, chances are you’ll take those steps.

If you think you can do just one more rep, one more bicep curl, and one more squat, you will probably be able to talk yourself into trying it and succeeding.

How Working out Improves Self Confidence 

When you work out, you want to have a can-do attitude.

When something is hard or you get to the point where the workout is challenging, how you handle that situation can change you as a person.

Self-efficacy is the belief in whether or not you can do something.

Working out can allow you to not just push yourself physically, but mentally as well.

How Working Out Reduces Fear of Failure

We tend to give up during something challenging, perhaps due to fear of failure.

It is distressing when we give our all and cannot accomplish something. And yes, while there is always a lesson to be learned and something gained, even from failure, it still sucks

But in working out, there is no failure, not really.

In fact, during a workout, particularly in strength training, you want to reach the point of failure.

You want to push yourself in increased weights, increased repetitions, and increased moves and find a point of failure.

You want to run just a little longer, just a little quicker than you did yesterday.

Finding failure, the point where you cannot lift another weight, or run out of breath, is not a bad thing in working out.

It’s a goal.

How Working out and Determination Relate

Have a conversation with yourself about your goals.

I work out to be stronger, to train for a pull-up, a goal of mine.

Work out to increase muscle definition, to make your body more flexible, work out for health reasons, work out for mental health, and work out to reach a fitness goal.

Whatever your reason for working out, find a goal and be determined to get there. 

Working out and Self Reflection

Finally, let your workout show you things you didn’t know about yourself.

Impress yourself, push yourself, but more importantly, listen to yourself.

Listen to your body. Are you tired and is it due to pain or injury? Fatigue? It’s ok to rest and reset.

Sometimes tightness needs time to release, muscles need time to grow and heal.

Recovery days are just as important as workout days.

The Takeaway

Working out has amazing mental benefits!

It can improve self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.

Working out can make you believe in yourself.

It is a moment of self-reflection, pushing yourself, but also listening to your body and healing yourself.

Let workouts be about more than just physical benefits or changing your body.

Let workouts improve your mind and spirit as well today!