It’s been interesting to me the extent to which The Joy Choice has brought new interest to my first, award-winning book about how to convert exercise from feeling like a chore to feeling like a gift, and in the process, cultivating high-quality, stable motivation for being regularly active (No Sweat).

While I wrote it for individuals based on client stories combined with user-friendly science, I’m beyond honored that it became a must-know-about resource around the world. It is now a core text used to train health couches and clinicians in methods for helping people learn how to transform their mindset about exercise.

While The Joy Choice assumes the reader has a positive mindset and relationship with exercising, No Sweat, guides people step-by-step how to achieve them.

For anyone who is interested in learning more about No Sweat’s key science-based and time-tested methods, below are the four core principles that are the foundation of my MAPS program described in the book:

  • M is for Meaning: Break free of negative associations with exercise, let go of “should dos” for shaping your body or disease prevention, and learn how to adopt the Right Whys to motivate a lasting commitment to rewarding, manageable physical activity.
     
  • A is for Awareness: Get in touch your feelings about exercise, choose to move in ways that feel good, acknowledge that everything (taking the stairs, a five-minute walk) counts—and count everything. You’ll learn how to transform exercise from a chore into a gift.
     
  • P is for Permission: Recognize the self-harming symptoms of “caretakeritis,” learn how to prioritize you  daily self-care needs, and revel in the power of movement to fuel positive emotions, clarity of mind, and energy for what you care about most.    
               
  • S is for Strategy:  Adjust to everyday realities and discover easy ways to calmly negotiate challenges to your exercise plans from a Sustainability Training that teaches how to rebound from stress and setbacks.

Feel free to share this post with others who share your interest in the science-based how-to’s of creating lasting changes that can survive in the real world.

Copyright © Segar, Michelle.