The body requires regular exercise to maintain optimal health. Unfortunately, many of us do not get as much exercise as we should. It is not that we don’t understand the benefits of a good workout. We do. It’s just that finding motivation is nearly impossible. We just don’t find exercise all that enjoyable.

On the other hand, there are those who exercise because they want to. They actually enjoy it. They find it invigorating and refreshing. We do not necessarily have to be exactly like them, but they could teach us a thing or two about engaging in a form of exercise that we actually find enjoyable. They can help us understand that exercise is different when you want to do it.

Motivation Is More Organic

One of the things that makes willful exercise better is that you don’t need to struggle for motivation. Rather, motivation is more organic. You look at your chosen exercise not as a workout per se, but an activity that you find enjoyable and fulfilling. With that mindset, you find it harder to miss a session than make one.

Though you might consider this a bad example, golf illustrates the point perfectly. Golf is an excellent form of exercise if you walk the course and carry your own clubs. There are people who play golf at least once a week during the season. Others play two or three times per week.

Why do they play? Because they love the sport. The fact that they are getting a couple of hours of consistent exercise is just a bonus. They do not have to be motivated by blog posts and YouTube videos; they would go play even if those things didn’t exist.

Choose Something You Enjoy

Participating in regular exercise is more important than the actual exercise you choose. So, according to the experts at Salt Lake City’s Mcycle studio, you can really help your own cause by choosing something you enjoy doing.

Mcycle goes to great lengths to maintain a culture that encourages cyclists to come back time and again. Their instructors put together fun, motivating rides that make indoor cycling enjoyable. You could take a class every week if indoor cycling is your thing. Supplement that class with rides you do at home.

Here’s the dirty little secret about exercise: your options are virtually unlimited. Maybe golf and cycling don’t do it for you. That’s fine. Do you like swimming? How about racquetball or handball? Perhaps you just like taking a brisk walk every now and again.

Enjoy Your Accomplishments

When you find something that you enjoy doing, you’ll also discover that you enjoy your accomplishments more. Golfers enjoy scoring birdies and eagles. Cyclists enjoy conquering hills. Swimmers get a kick out of making better lap times. The point is that doing something you enjoy naturally encourages you to push yourself to accomplish more. And when you achieve your goals, you feel good about it.

Achieving your goals is less about competing and more about proving to yourself that you can do it. And by the way, there is nothing wrong with that. Proving to yourself what you can accomplish increases self-discipline and motivation. Both are traits we could all use more of.

Exercise is a requirement for good health. Exercising because you have to is better than not exercising at all, but if you can find something that you actually enjoy doing, you might find that you want to exercise. Then, things will be different. Exercising because you want to achieve better results than exercising because you have to.