Top 10 Thursday: 10 Ways To Verbally Pump Yourself Up
By admin
We all have our own special ways to get ready for something. Some of us stay extremely quiet to get “in the zone”, some of us turn into Chatty Cathies on acid, and some of us practice self talk.
Everyone is different.
Personally, for me, it depends on the event.
For races or competitions, I go into quiet mode imagining my goals and getting my head and body into that moment.
When prepping a workout, I need some energy: loud music and a pep talk generally do the trick.
But, I am getting ahead of myself! I don’t want to give too many of my secrets away before even starting the Top 10 today.
We all need help getting pumped up and excited not just for workouts, but for life in general.
How many times has the alarm gone off and you try lay in bed pretending it didn’t? How can you jump out out bed with a smile on your face, ready to go to the office…
Well, here are 10 ways to verbally pump yourself up, for any and all situations!
10 Ways To Verbally Pump Yourself Up
1. Go All Yoda
Who knows more about motivation than a little green geriatric Jedi?
When you have something coming up that leads you to say, “Well, I might not succeed but I will at least try.”
Stop that thought half way through and repeat this:
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Think about that for a second… let the truth sink in. There truly is no “try”: you either do something, or you don’t. So if you fail, either go after it again or give up.
Star Wars may not be something you’re a huge fan of, but let’s face it, it has some take aways and this is one of them. My Star Wars loving husband says this to me every time I show doubt. It’s become our personal matra. But I don’t mind sharing it.
2. Have a sing along party.
Listening to your favorite song is one thing.
Singing along with it is another.
Studies show that music can light up our brain like sex, so it only makes sense that we feel good singing to our favorite tunes.
If you’re at home, play it loud and clear for all to hear. If you’re around people, listen to it on your ipod but don’t hold back the “groove” it brings. I mean, don’t go all broadway out in public, but sing to yourself!
Visualize yourself accomplishing goals with that song playing as your theme, like a scene from a classic 80s movie.
My pump up tune? Right now its: Gone Gone Gone by Phillips Phillip.
And if you come to our house, you can expect a karaoke party, it’s what we do. It’s how we stay chipper and pumped for getting work done.
3. It is okay to give yourself the finger.
Have to give a presentation? Trying to get ready to do something outside of your comfort zone? Is there something you have to do but just can’t focus?
Get up, right now.
Go walk to a mirror, and point at your reflection. Of course a determined face comes naturally as soon as that finger starts pointing!
Okay good, now repeat:
“I’m awesome, I’m ready, I’ve got this! And when it’s over, I am going to feel like the superstar I am… Let’s go!”
Of course after such a pep talk, it’s expected that you shake out the shoulders, roll your head and finish with a powerful “I got this” clap.
It might sound silly, but I guarantee it works.
4. The Eye Of The Tiger Pump
Even if you’re not a fan of Rocky, you know that scene when Rocky is training harder than he’s ever trained before. He’s running, boxing, jump roping, and pumping iron, then he finishes by running up the stairs of the Philadelphia museum and does his victory dance.
I’m sorry but if this tune doesn’t do a thing for you… you’ve got me beat. Maybe you need to hum it louder?
5. Remind yourself that you’re prepared.
When you’ve been prepping for a race, an interview, or a presentation we all have that moment of panic right before the big event.
Tell yourself:
“I’ve done everything I can, and I’m ready. I am prepared and have what it takes to wow myself and everyone around! Piece of cake!”
If you’ve prepared yourself like you planned, then everything is now out of your control.
Or follow this kid’s advice:
I can not stress enough how helpful it is to track your progress. This can be done a number of ways: from phone aps to old fashion pen and paper.
Keep track of your journey and then when you need a pick me up, go back and read out loud some of your older posts. Seeing how far you’ve come and the journey you’ve decided to embark on can pump you up faster than Arnold in the gym!
7. Make a verbal promise, shout out your goals.
My personal What’s Beautiful goal with Under Armour
It can be scary to share goals, it makes us feel vulnerable. But being outside of our comfort zones will push us farther than we ever thought possible.
When you tell your friends, family or co-workers of a challenge you’re going to take on, they might not be 100% supportive OR they might stand behind you, pushing you from start to finish.
Either way, use them as motivation. You’ve told them what you want now you can’t back down or give up.
There’s that need to finish what you started.
8. Reminisce.
Doubting yourself? Don’t worry we all do.
How can you toss away feelings of doubt and feel confident?
Sit down and think back to at least 5 times when you succeeded at something. Go over those events: how you felt before, during and after.
Did you doubt yourself then? Possibly.
But you came out on top and there is no reason why you can’t repeat that and experience those fabulous emotions all over again.
For me, one of those moments was competing in the Strong Woman competition. I was the under dog. I walked up to the final event with a feeling of determination, wanting to show everyone that this little girl was stronger than her frame. I grabbed those handles and won the Farmer’s Carry event. Success. Pride. Exhaustion.
9. Ask for pump up help!
Call up your best friend, your mom, your spouse, etc, and ask for some of their “pump”. They know you better than anyone else and will likely have just the right things to say.
For me, I call my mom. She always has the ability to calm me down, put things into perspective and gets me excited.
Dan is also great. His tactics are a bit more in your face but they work for me. When I need a pump he tosses things out there like “Oh, I bet ‘so-n-so’ can do it without a problem”, or “Don’t you want to get better? Then suck it up and just do it.”
That’s all it takes… I thrive on competition and if someone else is doing something potentially better, it gets my blood flowing and my body pumped up to take action.
10. I am beautiful. I am smart. I am kind.
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves how wonderful we are. Everybody has amazing qualities, but because we’re so tough on ourselves we forget what makes us great.
Take a few minutes (right now) and answer this question:
What makes you beautiful?
Just thinking positive thoughts will trigger happiness, excitement and a feeling of achievement. Bottle those three things together and you’ve got an instant dose of: Let’s do this.
I wrote a post just last week on what makes me feel beautiful, but here are a few things that make me beautiful:
My passion/love
My strength
My I don’t care what you think, I’m going to do this attitude (also gets me in trouble)
My focus
So there you have it, the best 10 ways to verbally pump yourself up. Every single person needs some help being the best they can be. Lord knows I do, and to be honest just sharing these ten with you, I am extremely motivated to tackle my to-dos for the day and feel accomplished.
I. Am. Pumped.
Do you have a matra?
What’s your favorite song to pump you up?