The Principle of Motion before Emotion

It has been a very busy couple of weeks (of leading, hosting, organizing, meeting and traveling) and I'm dead tired.

My Emotion affects My Motion could the reverse be true?

The rainy weather is also adding to my general "feeling" of malaise...but my calendar is telling me that it's time for me to write.  (deep breath and long pause)

I DON'T FEEL LIKE writing, but I turn on my computer and after about 15 minutes of staring into the monitor - I find the will power to put my fingers on the keyboard to start writing.  Suddenly, I am writing like there's no tomorrow and guess what the feelings that a moment ago were so compelling, so pervasive are gone and I'm feeling excited as my brain starts churning out ideas like a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat.

What just happened can best be explained by the Principle of Motion before Emotion.

While we all know that our emotions influences and limits or stimulates our motion.  Could the opposite be true...can we use our motion to influence our emotions?

The answer is a resounding YES!

If it were not so, then we would all call in sick whenever we're feeling depressed, especially when its gloomy and rainy outside.

Side bar:  How many of us have not felt like getting up early in the morning to go to work, but do so anyway?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US in a study from 1977 to 2012, show that people are 7 times more likely to call in sick during the winter months than the summer months and that absenteeism increases from 0.3% to 2.1% during the colder months of the year...the rest of us (97.9%) WILL ourselves up and get ourselves moving and apply (consciously or unconsciously) the principle of Motion before Emotion.

Don't believe me?  Next time you are feeling stressed, try going for a run or exercising and I guarantee you that you will feel better after the run.

The Mayo Clinic writes that exercise pumps up your endorphins (brain's feel-good neurotransmitters) and is almost guaranteed to improve your mood.

We can intentionally and consciously change our emotional state by deciding to take action.   The figure below best illustrates this principle.

Don't feel like doing anything today?  What are you waiting for? GET MOVING! :)