An intrinsic value is something about your exercise regime or diet that interests you as its own pursuit.
For example, one weight loss client of mine had always wanted to perform a cartwheel. She’d never been able to do so as a little girl.
Freed from the extrinsic nature of the desire to drop a dress size, her mental focus and energy was directed towards the intrinsic value of her fitness plan (learning to perform a cartwheel).
This approach probably flies in the face of almost every article you’ve read on setting fitness goals. But for some this technique works, as described by eminent psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes the power of intrinsic value in his fascinating book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
It’s no coincidence that many people I talk to about fitness set themselves extrinsic goals that are often never reached.
I myself, point out to clients that taking action is easier to accomplish if that action connects with them on an emotional level. Like improving one’s diet through an interest in learning how to cook, rather than a through deciding to give up tv dinners.
