As we get further into the year, there are more challenges that come our way. Work gets busy, family has needs, friends want to you to go places and see things. In other words, life happens. The gung-ho New Year’s resolution setters are already packing it in and assuming that only the die-hards are still using the gym or the running trails.
It is an easy assumption to make. After all, you did try many things over a long period of time before giving up. You did try many things, right? You did stick with it for a long time…right?
Sadly, the answer is often no to these questions. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s not just one question or another. These questions are actually answering each other. You can’t try many things if you don’t stick with it long enough. You also will have trouble sticking with it if you don’t try many things to find one that you really like.
Variety is not just a fun thing to enjoy. Variety is a factor in your health. If you get some variety you can live healthier. By applying the literal meaning of the word variety to your daily routine, you are able to improve your health. Think about it: what do you do all day? Work. It is the same day in and day out, right? Throwing some exercise into the mix would provide health benefits, but more importantly, it would make your day more fun.
Variety is something we all want. If we have options and get to choose the ones we like best, we are always happy. There is nothing else that makes us happier! You’ve heard the saying: “Variety is the spice of life.”. It’s true.
Die-hard exercise folks know this. They know that when given a choice, life is more fun. They have chosen to exercise. Within that choice, they also know that they have many other choices. They can do whatever they want for exercise.
If you show me someone that is on track with an exercise routine, I will show you someone that knows their options and chooses the option or options that they enjoy the most. It makes sense that they are exercising regularly because they have chosen something that they enjoy. If you don’t enjoy an option, you won’t do it. Sure, you may try it once, but you won’t go back and that one workout session will not help you in the long-run.
When the long-term exercisers look at the long-run, they are not worried about the fact that they may not want to do it next week or next month. They are looking forward to doing it again and again. There are a few ways you can get to the point that you are looking forward to exercise:
1. Try many modes of exercise
By definition, variety means having different forms or types. When starting an exercise routine, plan to try new and different things. Going to the gym is one thing. The countless things you can do in the gym offer you a chance to do many things and see many good results.
2. Try many ways within each mode
- Location: I enjoy running. What I don’t enjoy is running in circles or covering the same route over and over again. I have many routes mapped out and I try to rotate them throughout the week, so I am seeing different sites, covering different profiles (hills, flat, both) and surfaces (sidewalks, paved paths, roads, etc.). If I had to run the same route every day, I would get bored and quit.
- Intensity: Running is another good example of intensity options. Long and slow is one way to do it. Short and fast is another way to complete a good run. There are benefits to both on their own and by mixing it up, you can keep your routine fresh
- Time: Sometimes time gets the best of us all. Squeezing in a quick workout has to be an option if you want to be successful at fitting exercise into your routine. You can do this even if you have time. Just try to keep intensity up and keep workouts shorter if you feel that you are having trouble fitting them in.
I could go on for pages about different ways to change up your workouts. That is the beauty of exercise. It doesn’t matter what you do. It doesn’t matter where you do it. It doesn’t matter who you do it with. It doesn’t even matter how long you do it or how many times. If you move your body, you burn calories, improve health and best of all, you feel good.
Why doesn’t everyone succeed if we feel so good when we exercise? Variety is the difference between success and failure in many cases. We all want to exercise. We all want to be healthy, but there are challenges that come up. The biggest challenge for most people isn’t time, work or any other external factor. The biggest challenge for most people is the ability to get creative.
Creativity is not often associated with muscle and sweat. It is usually thought of as something for a stage or studio, but creativity is the key to variety. If you can think of new ways to make yourself move, you will move. If you can think of new ways to make moving fun, you will move and be very successful as you keep moving.
That is all. Get creative with your schedule to allow time for exercise. Get creative with your exercise to allow for you to enjoy it and keep it up. Why is variety so important? Variety will help you stick with exercise. Variety will help you live healthy.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tired of Starting Over? Quit Quitting.
I recently saw a post on a popular social media site. Well, I’ve seen thousands of posts on many different sites, but this one really caught my attention. In fact, it got me excited. The post was not from a health company or a site that even promotes health and wellness. The post came from a person that sees things clearly. That is what is so exciting about this post. It was about a person that found what they needed to do in order to be successful. Sharing this will hopefully make others successful too.
What was the post that got me so excited? Well here it is: "If you're sick of starting over, you have to stop quitting."- anyone who's ever had success
Every time I read this post, I am reminded of the times that my clients have told me that they are
a) found themselves “off track” having just quit, or
b) not able to get started again after quitting, or
c) wondering if they will be able to avoid quitting their current routine
This seems to be a common issue for people. I’m not surprised, as I hear it regularly. As I work with people before, during and after making changes for their health, I see these scenarios on a daily basis. Everyone wants to be successful. No one wants to quit, but for some reason, quitting seems to be the most successful part of our routine.
Why do we quit so easily?
I think we quit because we don’t give ourselves enough credit for the small steps. Each time you set a goal and reach a goal, you are successful. It doesn’t matter how small the step is. If you take the step, you can call yourself successful. Actually, you SHOULD call yourself successful. That way, you will be more confident when you go to take your next step.
How else can you expect to make progress? Take it one step at a time, but stop to give yourself credit for taking each step. in this case, stopping does not mean quitting. Stopping simply means acknowledging your success before taking on a new goal. Success leads to more success, if you acknowledge that success along the way.
Confidence is the key to keeping yourself going. When I see someone fail, it is not because they can’t do it. It is not because they took on something that was too difficult. When someone fails, they quit trying. That is all there is to it. It sounds simple, but it is the truth. This is where my favorite part of the quote comes into play.
Who has this wisdom?
Anyone who has ever had success can tell you that the best way to stay on track is to stay on track. Now it sounds like I’m patronizing you and everyone else that has struggled to stick with something. Let me assure you, that I am not patronizing anyone.
It is my job as a Health Coach to help people see what they want and start doing what they have to do to get it. One of the most important factors in finding what you want is knowing what is in your way. When you set a goal, you have to look at the possible barriers in front of you. Once you do this, you can set some realistic expectations that you can stick to. If you don’t, you are simply closing your eyes and hoping it all works out in your favor.
This applies to all areas of life. That is another thing that I love about this quote. It is not even about health. It is about success. Success is limited to money and career far too often. Again, success is nothing more than achieving the goals you have set. When you set a goal and reach it, you are now successful. When you continue to reach that goal, your success continues. When you set another goal and reach another goal, your success continues even further.
Successful people know this. That is why they continue to set and reach goals. They know that if they keep going, they will get where they want to go. Sure, there may be some adjustments made along the way, but they know that progress is the key. The more progress they make, the more confidence they get and they just keep on rolling.
How can we all use this wisdom?
We all have it, we just need to use it. The wisdom in this quote is simply, yet applies to all of us in all areas of our life. Obviously, I like to keep it in health, but I have seen my goals work in all areas. I have seen success in many things because I took the same approach.
This approach is what works for me, but it also works for everyone else that has used it. It is a fool-proof plan. If you keep trying, you will get better results. There is more to it than blindly pursuing random goals. Set them wisely, be aware of the challenges and be willing to make adjustments to overcome these challenges. This will lead to success every time.
Quitting is something that you do when you either don’t want something or don’t think you can achieve something. That doesn’t mean that you are right. If you quit and told yourself you can’t do something, while you are fulfilling your self-assigned destiny, you are not giving yourself the opportunity to succeed.
When a challenge comes up, you can do one of two things: adjust to overcome it or quit. It is up to you. No one can make you do what you don’t want to do. But, I’ve yet to hear anyone say: “I want to give it a go, but ultimately I want to give up before I get there.” No one says: “I want to start all over and again with less confidence as soon as possible.” That is not what we want, yet that is what we continue to get.
Take quitting out of your list of options. By setting realistic goals at the start of your routine, you can determine what your baseline is going to be. As long as your baseline is allowing you to accomplish something and you are reaching it, than you are succeeding. If you quit, you are achieving nothing. So, quit achieving nothing. Quit quitting!
What was the post that got me so excited? Well here it is: "If you're sick of starting over, you have to stop quitting."- anyone who's ever had success
Every time I read this post, I am reminded of the times that my clients have told me that they are
a) found themselves “off track” having just quit, or
b) not able to get started again after quitting, or
c) wondering if they will be able to avoid quitting their current routine
This seems to be a common issue for people. I’m not surprised, as I hear it regularly. As I work with people before, during and after making changes for their health, I see these scenarios on a daily basis. Everyone wants to be successful. No one wants to quit, but for some reason, quitting seems to be the most successful part of our routine.
Why do we quit so easily?
I think we quit because we don’t give ourselves enough credit for the small steps. Each time you set a goal and reach a goal, you are successful. It doesn’t matter how small the step is. If you take the step, you can call yourself successful. Actually, you SHOULD call yourself successful. That way, you will be more confident when you go to take your next step.
How else can you expect to make progress? Take it one step at a time, but stop to give yourself credit for taking each step. in this case, stopping does not mean quitting. Stopping simply means acknowledging your success before taking on a new goal. Success leads to more success, if you acknowledge that success along the way.
Confidence is the key to keeping yourself going. When I see someone fail, it is not because they can’t do it. It is not because they took on something that was too difficult. When someone fails, they quit trying. That is all there is to it. It sounds simple, but it is the truth. This is where my favorite part of the quote comes into play.
Who has this wisdom?
Anyone who has ever had success can tell you that the best way to stay on track is to stay on track. Now it sounds like I’m patronizing you and everyone else that has struggled to stick with something. Let me assure you, that I am not patronizing anyone.
It is my job as a Health Coach to help people see what they want and start doing what they have to do to get it. One of the most important factors in finding what you want is knowing what is in your way. When you set a goal, you have to look at the possible barriers in front of you. Once you do this, you can set some realistic expectations that you can stick to. If you don’t, you are simply closing your eyes and hoping it all works out in your favor.
This applies to all areas of life. That is another thing that I love about this quote. It is not even about health. It is about success. Success is limited to money and career far too often. Again, success is nothing more than achieving the goals you have set. When you set a goal and reach it, you are now successful. When you continue to reach that goal, your success continues. When you set another goal and reach another goal, your success continues even further.
Successful people know this. That is why they continue to set and reach goals. They know that if they keep going, they will get where they want to go. Sure, there may be some adjustments made along the way, but they know that progress is the key. The more progress they make, the more confidence they get and they just keep on rolling.
How can we all use this wisdom?
We all have it, we just need to use it. The wisdom in this quote is simply, yet applies to all of us in all areas of our life. Obviously, I like to keep it in health, but I have seen my goals work in all areas. I have seen success in many things because I took the same approach.
This approach is what works for me, but it also works for everyone else that has used it. It is a fool-proof plan. If you keep trying, you will get better results. There is more to it than blindly pursuing random goals. Set them wisely, be aware of the challenges and be willing to make adjustments to overcome these challenges. This will lead to success every time.
Quitting is something that you do when you either don’t want something or don’t think you can achieve something. That doesn’t mean that you are right. If you quit and told yourself you can’t do something, while you are fulfilling your self-assigned destiny, you are not giving yourself the opportunity to succeed.
When a challenge comes up, you can do one of two things: adjust to overcome it or quit. It is up to you. No one can make you do what you don’t want to do. But, I’ve yet to hear anyone say: “I want to give it a go, but ultimately I want to give up before I get there.” No one says: “I want to start all over and again with less confidence as soon as possible.” That is not what we want, yet that is what we continue to get.
Take quitting out of your list of options. By setting realistic goals at the start of your routine, you can determine what your baseline is going to be. As long as your baseline is allowing you to accomplish something and you are reaching it, than you are succeeding. If you quit, you are achieving nothing. So, quit achieving nothing. Quit quitting!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Quit Quitting
I recently saw a post on a popular social media site. Well, I’ve seen thousands of posts on many different sites, but this one really caught my attention. In fact, it got me excited. The post was not from a health company or a site that even promotes health and wellness. The post came from a person that sees things clearly. That is what is so exciting about this post. It was about a person that found what they needed to do in order to be successful. Sharing this will hopefully make others successful too.
What was the post that got me so excited? Well here it is: "If you're sick of starting over, you have to stop quitting."- anyone who's ever had success
Every time I read this post, I am reminded of the times that my clients have told me that they are:
a) found themselves “off track” having just quit, or
b) not able to get started again after quitting, or
c) wondering if they will be able to avoid quitting their current routine
This seems to be a common issue for people. I’m not surprised, as I hear it regularly. As I work with people before, during and after making changes for their health, I see these scenarios on a daily basis. Everyone wants to be successful. No one wants to quit, but for some reason, quitting seems to be the most successful part of our routine.
Why do we quit so easily?
I think we quit because we don’t give ourselves enough credit for the small steps. Each time you set a goal and reach a goal, you are successful. It doesn’t matter how small the step is. If you take the step, you can call yourself successful. Actually, you SHOULD call yourself successful. That way, you will be more confident when you go to take your next step.
How else can you expect to make progress? Take it one step at a time, but stop to give yourself credit for taking each step. in this case, stopping does not mean quitting. Stopping simply means acknowledging your success before taking on a new goal. Success leads to more success, if you acknowledge that success along the way.
Confidence is the key to keeping yourself going. When I see someone fail, it is not because they can’t do it. It is not because they took on something that was too difficult. When someone fails, they quit trying. That is all there is to it. It sounds simple, but it is the truth. This is where my favorite part of the quote comes into play.
Who has this wisdom?
Anyone who has ever had success can tell you that the best way to stay on track is to stay on track. Now it sounds like I’m patronizing you and everyone else that has struggled to stick with something. Let me assure you, that I am not patronizing anyone.
It is my job as a Health Coach to help people see what they want and start doing what they have to do to get it. One of the most important factors in finding what you want is knowing what is in your way. When you set a goal, you have to look at the possible barriers in front of you. Once you do this, you can set some realistic expectations that you can stick to. If you don’t, you are simply closing your eyes and hoping it all works out in your favor.
This applies to all areas of life. That is another thing that I love about this quote. It is not even about health. It is about success. Success is limited to money and career far too often. Again, success is nothing more than achieving the goals you have set. When you set a goal and reach it, you are now successful. When you continue to reach that goal, your success continues. When you set another goal and reach another goal, your success continues even further.
Successful people know this. That is why they continue to set and reach goals. They know that if they keep going, they will get where they want to go. Sure, there may be some adjustments made along the way, but they know that progress is the key. The more progress they make, the more confidence they get and they just keep on rolling.
How can we all use this wisdom?
We all have it, we just need to use it. The wisdom in this quote is simply, yet applies to all of us in all areas of our life. Obviously, I like to keep it in health, but I have seen my goals work in all areas. I have seen success in many things because I took the same approach.
This approach is what works for me, but it also works for everyone else that has used it. It is a fool-proof plan. If you keep trying, you will get better results. There is more to it than blindly pursuing random goals. Set them wisely, be aware of the challenges and be willing to make adjustments to overcome these challenges. This will lead to success every time.
Quitting is something that you do when you either don’t want something or don’t think you can achieve something. That doesn’t mean that you are right. If you quit and told yourself you can’t do something, while you are fulfilling your self-assigned destiny, you are not giving yourself the opportunity to succeed.
When a challenge comes up, you can do one of two things: adjust to overcome it or quit. It is up to you. No one can make you do what you don’t want to do. But, I’ve yet to hear anyone say: “I want to give it a go, but ultimately I want to give up before I get there.” No one says: “I want to start all over and again with less confidence as soon as possible.” That is not what we want, yet that is what we continue to get.
Take quitting out of your list of options. By setting realistic goals at the start of your routine, you can determine what your baseline is going to be. As long as your baseline is allowing you to accomplish something and you are reaching it, than you are succeeding. If you quit, you are achieving nothing. So, quit achieving nothing. Quit quitting!
What was the post that got me so excited? Well here it is: "If you're sick of starting over, you have to stop quitting."- anyone who's ever had success
Every time I read this post, I am reminded of the times that my clients have told me that they are:
a) found themselves “off track” having just quit, or
b) not able to get started again after quitting, or
c) wondering if they will be able to avoid quitting their current routine
This seems to be a common issue for people. I’m not surprised, as I hear it regularly. As I work with people before, during and after making changes for their health, I see these scenarios on a daily basis. Everyone wants to be successful. No one wants to quit, but for some reason, quitting seems to be the most successful part of our routine.
Why do we quit so easily?
I think we quit because we don’t give ourselves enough credit for the small steps. Each time you set a goal and reach a goal, you are successful. It doesn’t matter how small the step is. If you take the step, you can call yourself successful. Actually, you SHOULD call yourself successful. That way, you will be more confident when you go to take your next step.
How else can you expect to make progress? Take it one step at a time, but stop to give yourself credit for taking each step. in this case, stopping does not mean quitting. Stopping simply means acknowledging your success before taking on a new goal. Success leads to more success, if you acknowledge that success along the way.
Confidence is the key to keeping yourself going. When I see someone fail, it is not because they can’t do it. It is not because they took on something that was too difficult. When someone fails, they quit trying. That is all there is to it. It sounds simple, but it is the truth. This is where my favorite part of the quote comes into play.
Who has this wisdom?
Anyone who has ever had success can tell you that the best way to stay on track is to stay on track. Now it sounds like I’m patronizing you and everyone else that has struggled to stick with something. Let me assure you, that I am not patronizing anyone.
It is my job as a Health Coach to help people see what they want and start doing what they have to do to get it. One of the most important factors in finding what you want is knowing what is in your way. When you set a goal, you have to look at the possible barriers in front of you. Once you do this, you can set some realistic expectations that you can stick to. If you don’t, you are simply closing your eyes and hoping it all works out in your favor.
This applies to all areas of life. That is another thing that I love about this quote. It is not even about health. It is about success. Success is limited to money and career far too often. Again, success is nothing more than achieving the goals you have set. When you set a goal and reach it, you are now successful. When you continue to reach that goal, your success continues. When you set another goal and reach another goal, your success continues even further.
Successful people know this. That is why they continue to set and reach goals. They know that if they keep going, they will get where they want to go. Sure, there may be some adjustments made along the way, but they know that progress is the key. The more progress they make, the more confidence they get and they just keep on rolling.
How can we all use this wisdom?
We all have it, we just need to use it. The wisdom in this quote is simply, yet applies to all of us in all areas of our life. Obviously, I like to keep it in health, but I have seen my goals work in all areas. I have seen success in many things because I took the same approach.
This approach is what works for me, but it also works for everyone else that has used it. It is a fool-proof plan. If you keep trying, you will get better results. There is more to it than blindly pursuing random goals. Set them wisely, be aware of the challenges and be willing to make adjustments to overcome these challenges. This will lead to success every time.
Quitting is something that you do when you either don’t want something or don’t think you can achieve something. That doesn’t mean that you are right. If you quit and told yourself you can’t do something, while you are fulfilling your self-assigned destiny, you are not giving yourself the opportunity to succeed.
When a challenge comes up, you can do one of two things: adjust to overcome it or quit. It is up to you. No one can make you do what you don’t want to do. But, I’ve yet to hear anyone say: “I want to give it a go, but ultimately I want to give up before I get there.” No one says: “I want to start all over and again with less confidence as soon as possible.” That is not what we want, yet that is what we continue to get.
Take quitting out of your list of options. By setting realistic goals at the start of your routine, you can determine what your baseline is going to be. As long as your baseline is allowing you to accomplish something and you are reaching it, than you are succeeding. If you quit, you are achieving nothing. So, quit achieving nothing. Quit quitting!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
It’s Only One Workout
Early in the year you hear people saying things like: “This year I am going to be healthy” and “I have changed everything.” As people say these things, they are thinking about their new goals and feeling good about their progress so far.
In a few short months, or in many cases, a few short weeks or even days the tone often changes. Statements like: “I failed.” And “I was on track for a while but…” start to come out. What happened? Well it depends on the person, but in most cases there was a roadblock involved.
We all run into them. No matter what the goals is, there are going to be challenges to reach it. In many cases, the more significant the change is, the more challenges one will run into along the path toward making the change.
We all run into barriers. But what is the difference between people that can do it for a lifetime and those that can only stick with it for a few short months, weeks or days. Well, everyone runs into the same challenges, we just run into them at different times and more importantly, we handle the situation differently when we run into these challenges.
There are 3 categories of people. Actually, you could break it down much further than that, but for argument’s sake, we will think about it with 3 groups. The 3 groups are beginner, semi-experienced and expert. The beginner has just set a New Year’s resolution. They have never been in a regular routine before, but know that they want to be in one now. The semi-experienced person has set a series of goals to get back on track. They have been in a routine before, but have only recently run into a tough stretch where it is hard for them to get their exercise in. The expert is not starting anything. They have been doing it for years and will continue to do the same.
Let’s take a tough day at the office for example. We all have them. In fact, January, which is the time that we always have these new ambitions, is also the time when things are busiest. With winter in full swing, that doesn’t make things any easier. So, what do people do when they run into challenges? How does each person handle it? Let’s find out…
The beginner has a tough day:
The day has gotten longer and longer as work continues to pile up. The beginner has set a New Year’s Resolution to go to the gym in the evening. They are thinking to themselves: “This is not going to happen.” The day continues, the stress continues and eventually, they write off the possibility of going to the gym after work.
The semi-experienced person has a tough day:
The day is long and hard and they are only getting more and more tired as the day goes on. They feel less and less up for a workout after work, but know that they set a goal. They have been here before, so it feels familiar. This could be an advantage, but they simply remember all the times that they didn’t make it through these times before and it looks more and more like it will happen again. Eventually, they give in and the workout doesn’t happen.
The expert has a tough day:
As the day goes on, things get more stressful. The expert is no different from the other two people. They feel the stress and fatigue. One advantage for the expert is that they already have more energy because they are used the routine and it has been fueling them for years. The expert is also a life-long exerciser and sees the workout as a way to shrug off a tough day. When they finally get to leave, they can go to the gym and take out their aggression on the treadmill or weights and everything will be fine when they leave. The next day will come around and they will handle it just the same.
This is just one workout, but you can see how differently it is viewed and handled by the 3 different categories of people. The beginner and semi-experienced miss their workout, while the expert gets theirs in without hesitation. This sounds like it’s self-explanatory since that is the routine that people are in, but it is more than that.
That was just the reaction to one workout. What happens if we go out another day? What are they saying then?
Beginner: “I failed already, I guess I can’t do it.”
Semi-experienced: “I didn’t get my workout in yesterday, but I have to get it in today. If I don’t I will consider this a failure.”
Expert: “Another day, another workout.”
These three reactions are not uncommon because of the way that each person treats the exercise session. To the beginner, this is a major milestone in a fresh routine. If they don’t get it, they don’t have anything established and therefore, are not making progress. The semi-experienced person sees something similar in the way that they have not been on track. Their new routine may have been something they’ve done before, but it is not on track now, so they feel that they are off.
The expert is not thinking about all of this. They are taking it one day at a time. Are they going to work out every day? Probably not, but missing one is not going to throw them off either.
The biggest difference between beginners and experts is the reaction to the challenges along the way. If you can overcome these challenges, you will be successful. There is no question about that. The only question is, how are you able to bounce back?
Each workout should stand alone. If you miss one, you have the next one coming to get back on track. Every day is a new day and a chance for you to reach your goal. The only failure is quitting and saying that you failed. As long as you are trying, you can succeed.
You just can’t let one day ruin the week. You can’t let one week ruin the month. And you can’t let one month ruin the year. The better you can bounce back and get back into your routine, the better you can start making progress. Otherwise, you are just going to beat yourself up and quit. Then comes the self-loathing because you quit. It is a vicious cycle that can be avoided by taking things one day at a time. Each workout is its own goal and no one workout can affect another. Think about that before you give up after a tough day. Just because you miss a workout doesn’t mean that you failed. After all, it’s only one workout.
In a few short months, or in many cases, a few short weeks or even days the tone often changes. Statements like: “I failed.” And “I was on track for a while but…” start to come out. What happened? Well it depends on the person, but in most cases there was a roadblock involved.
We all run into them. No matter what the goals is, there are going to be challenges to reach it. In many cases, the more significant the change is, the more challenges one will run into along the path toward making the change.
We all run into barriers. But what is the difference between people that can do it for a lifetime and those that can only stick with it for a few short months, weeks or days. Well, everyone runs into the same challenges, we just run into them at different times and more importantly, we handle the situation differently when we run into these challenges.
There are 3 categories of people. Actually, you could break it down much further than that, but for argument’s sake, we will think about it with 3 groups. The 3 groups are beginner, semi-experienced and expert. The beginner has just set a New Year’s resolution. They have never been in a regular routine before, but know that they want to be in one now. The semi-experienced person has set a series of goals to get back on track. They have been in a routine before, but have only recently run into a tough stretch where it is hard for them to get their exercise in. The expert is not starting anything. They have been doing it for years and will continue to do the same.
Let’s take a tough day at the office for example. We all have them. In fact, January, which is the time that we always have these new ambitions, is also the time when things are busiest. With winter in full swing, that doesn’t make things any easier. So, what do people do when they run into challenges? How does each person handle it? Let’s find out…
The beginner has a tough day:
The day has gotten longer and longer as work continues to pile up. The beginner has set a New Year’s Resolution to go to the gym in the evening. They are thinking to themselves: “This is not going to happen.” The day continues, the stress continues and eventually, they write off the possibility of going to the gym after work.
The semi-experienced person has a tough day:
The day is long and hard and they are only getting more and more tired as the day goes on. They feel less and less up for a workout after work, but know that they set a goal. They have been here before, so it feels familiar. This could be an advantage, but they simply remember all the times that they didn’t make it through these times before and it looks more and more like it will happen again. Eventually, they give in and the workout doesn’t happen.
The expert has a tough day:
As the day goes on, things get more stressful. The expert is no different from the other two people. They feel the stress and fatigue. One advantage for the expert is that they already have more energy because they are used the routine and it has been fueling them for years. The expert is also a life-long exerciser and sees the workout as a way to shrug off a tough day. When they finally get to leave, they can go to the gym and take out their aggression on the treadmill or weights and everything will be fine when they leave. The next day will come around and they will handle it just the same.
This is just one workout, but you can see how differently it is viewed and handled by the 3 different categories of people. The beginner and semi-experienced miss their workout, while the expert gets theirs in without hesitation. This sounds like it’s self-explanatory since that is the routine that people are in, but it is more than that.
That was just the reaction to one workout. What happens if we go out another day? What are they saying then?
Beginner: “I failed already, I guess I can’t do it.”
Semi-experienced: “I didn’t get my workout in yesterday, but I have to get it in today. If I don’t I will consider this a failure.”
Expert: “Another day, another workout.”
These three reactions are not uncommon because of the way that each person treats the exercise session. To the beginner, this is a major milestone in a fresh routine. If they don’t get it, they don’t have anything established and therefore, are not making progress. The semi-experienced person sees something similar in the way that they have not been on track. Their new routine may have been something they’ve done before, but it is not on track now, so they feel that they are off.
The expert is not thinking about all of this. They are taking it one day at a time. Are they going to work out every day? Probably not, but missing one is not going to throw them off either.
The biggest difference between beginners and experts is the reaction to the challenges along the way. If you can overcome these challenges, you will be successful. There is no question about that. The only question is, how are you able to bounce back?
Each workout should stand alone. If you miss one, you have the next one coming to get back on track. Every day is a new day and a chance for you to reach your goal. The only failure is quitting and saying that you failed. As long as you are trying, you can succeed.
You just can’t let one day ruin the week. You can’t let one week ruin the month. And you can’t let one month ruin the year. The better you can bounce back and get back into your routine, the better you can start making progress. Otherwise, you are just going to beat yourself up and quit. Then comes the self-loathing because you quit. It is a vicious cycle that can be avoided by taking things one day at a time. Each workout is its own goal and no one workout can affect another. Think about that before you give up after a tough day. Just because you miss a workout doesn’t mean that you failed. After all, it’s only one workout.
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