Deciding Your Own Future

I have a hard time seeing people quit. This is due to advice from a childhood coach. He said: “When you quit you are deciding the outcome.” He was talking about a game and the outcome you are deciding is that you will lose the game if you quit before it’s over.

This applies in many areas, which we will touch on as we go. This saying came back to me when I saw a post from my friend who runs a sports-performance facility. The post was “Choose your own future”. It may be a little different than deciding your own future, but it really means the same thing. It means that you are in charge. If you choose to go for it, you can get it. If you choose not to go for it, you can’t get it.

My career in the health industry has been very enjoyable. I love what I do on a daily basis. Working with people has been a fun experience for me and is why I started my business. As a health coach, I get to help people set goals and improve specific areas of their lives.

While this is very rewarding, it can also be frustrating for me. The most frustrating part is when I see people give up. I often hear people tell me that they are stuck. They tell me that they are unable to reach a goal and they don’t see themselves moving past where they are. This gets very difficult because all I want to do is help.

Luckily when it’s a client in this situation, I can actually help them. We can work together to get them through the rough patch and make the goal more realistic again. I still get frustrated when I see people quit.

Why is it frustrating? The toughest part is hearing someone decide to quit because they don’t think they can do something. They are not quitting because something is impossible. They are not quitting because they don’t have the ability to do it. Why are they quitting? They are quitting because they see a goal and don’t think they can reach it. When this happens, they are giving up not just on their goal, but they are giving up on themselves.

When it comes to life, you are in charge. We can talk about a business or career. We can talk about your finances, family or any other area. No matter what we talk about, you are in charge of the future of these areas. No one else decides how many meetings you set up or projects you complete at work. No one else decides whether you spend or save money to determine your financial future. You are in control of all of this. It is your life and your routine.

Health is an area that seems to be left out of this conversation. When I ask people about their goals, I hear them say many things that would suggest they don’t have a choice. I hear people say things like, “I can’t do that” or “I’m just not ever going to get there”. I even hear “I’m just an unhealthy person”. When someone says this, I can’t help but hear that they are forgetting they are in control. They forget that they can decide what their future looks like. Or maybe they just didn’t know that they are in control.

Why do we think we are not in control? I think we have actually given it up. In our day to day lives it has become the norm to do what we have on the to-do list. Often our list consists of things that others want us to do. It is important to consider others. Family, friends, employers and clients are all important and should be considered.

We’ve given up our control, but why? I think we have given it up because than it’s not our fault that we aren’t where we want to be. It is easier to say, “Oh well, I guess I’m not supposed to be healthy.”, than it is to take responsibility and work toward your goals.

Not everyone has willingly given up control. Many people want to gain it and improve their lives, so how do they get it back? It’s not as difficult as you may think. In fact it starts with one choice. Choosing to be in control is the first step. Once you’ve done this, you are in charge of your goals and your future. I’m not suggesting we put everything on hold and focus strictly on health. In fact, I’m suggesting we use the same tools that help us accomplish tasks in these other areas to help in the health routine.

Take a minute to think about what your goals are? What do you need to do in order to accomplish them? Planning is the key. Setting up your schedule and reminders can help you execute. There must be a balance between only focusing on health and the other extreme of never focusing on it. Success is found in the balance between the extremes. Having a plan can help you make that balance sustainable.

Many people are struggling because they are strictly focused on work or something else. When they try to set goals in another area they often fail because they don’t take control to reach them. In fact, it is easier for them to say they don’t have control and choose not to reach their goals. “I’m too busy” or “I just don’t have time” are perfect examples of this.

You may be reaching your goals. Or you may be making excuses like “I’m too busy”. If you are reaching your goals it is because you have taken control and decided on your own outcome. You have decided what you want your life to look like (in any area) and you have taken the steps necessary to make it that way. In other words, you are deciding your own future. The moral of the story is that if you are not reaching your goals and blaming outside circumstances you are simply making excuses. You too are deciding your own future.