When it comes to health it is easy to get wrapped up in an intense routine. When trying to stick with that routine it is also easy to get frustrated. When most people get frustrated, that is the end of the routine. It’s not that people don’t want to continue to work out and eat well, it is just a difficult thing to do.
There is no way around it: Healthy living is not easy. Even experts and people that have been doing it for years have days and even weeks that just aren’t as good as they want them to be. We’ve talked about the difference between experts and beginners before. More specifically, we have talked about what happens when things get difficult.
When a routine gets difficult, beginners get frustrated while experts get realistic. The hardest part about staying on track is not avoiding challenges. The hardest part about staying on track is realizing that they are going to be there no matter what you do. Avoiding challenges is impossible, but being ready for them and adjusting is not.
Adjustment is the difference between getting back on track and simply quitting. If you can’t adjust, you can’t succeed in anything. Health is no different. When challenges come along, you have to figure out how to get around them or you will be stuck in the same place.
That place is not fun. For anyone, beginner, expert or somewhere in between, this place can be very difficult. The key in any routine is to figure out how to get out of it as quickly as possible. That doesn’t mean that panic or haste is necessary.
When it comes to getting back on track and out of the place of difficulty or frustration, we actually have to take a step back. It feels counter-intuitive, but relaxing and giving yourself a break may be the answer to getting back into it. You can’t change what difficult situation is presenting itself now. What you can change is how you react to it.
You have two options:
1. Get upset and beat yourself up about what you didn’t get done.
2. You can stop and think about how you can get back on track and get it done tomorrow
These options are pretty black and white. There is the road that leads to more frustration and ultimately failure. Or there is the road that leads you back to the road you want to be on. Everyone falls off at some point, but if you know your way back, it’s not a big deal.
You can’t change what already happened. You can’t undo anything. That is why looking backwards is so frustrating. It’s not just because you didn’t get something done or missed your goal. It is most frustrating because you can’t change it anyway. You can think about yesterday all you want, but you cannot change it. That is why we need to focus on what we can change.
What can we change? We can change tomorrow. Tomorrow becomes a success when today’s actions are in line with what we want tomorrow. You have to look ahead in order to get there. You can look behind to reflect, but if you spend too much time there it is easy to get frustrated at the little things that didn’t work the way you wanted them to work. Chances are there were things that could’ve gone better, but the more time we dwell on them, the longer it takes to get back to focus on today and tomorrow. If you must look backward, do it quickly and move on.
Looking forward is what successful people do. Whether you are talking about health, business or any other area, you know that to be successful, you have to set goals and have a vision of what you want your future to look like.
When it comes to health, most people have a vision of what they want the future to look like, but they lack the goals or action steps to get there. The action steps that are going to impact your routine are in front of you, not behind you. If you can do something today or even tomorrow, you can be on track. No matter what happened yesterday, you can’t change it. The only thing you can change is what is in front of you.
The importance of this concept comes into play when things are not going the way they should. If you are just coming off of a bad weekend, a long work-week, a trip or anything that made your routine feel like a challenge, just remember that you can’t change what you did or didn’t do last week, weekend or on that vacation. However, you can change what you do tomorrow to make up for it.
If you keep beating yourself up, you are just adding to the frustration. The more frustrated you are, the harder it will be to get back into your routine. If don’t get back on track tomorrow, you are letting yesterday ruin your chances of being successful today or tomorrow.
That is what happens when you spend too much time looking backward. When we refocus and realize that tomorrow is a new day, we give ourselves permission to let go of yesterday’s failure and turn it into tomorrow’s success. The days are completely independent of one another. What happened yesterday has no effect on tomorrow unless you let it. Don’t allow the past to affect your future. Don’t let yesterday ruin tomorrow.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Rebalance
Balance is a word that gets tossed around quite frequently. We all know what it means, but I think we take it for granted. Balance is something that we want to have, but I think it is something that we do. If you balance your routine or your workload you are assessing and prioritizing things. If you have balance you have assessed and prioritized, but without action, you don’t have anything.
It is this action that leads us to success in all areas. When it comes to health, balance is something we need to do in order to achieve our goals. Without balance, health is either too extreme and leads to injury or burnout or health is not part of our routine and leads to problems. The latter is clearly more common in our society.
Because action is the one thing that we have control over in our lives, it becomes the most important factor in any area. After the action itself, what that action is used for becomes the most important factor. The areas in which we place the most action are the areas in which we see the most success.
Balance is an area that gets discussed in every aspect of life, so clearly it holds some importance. In health, the importance of balance is nothing to short of crucial. As we have already discussed, on the one end of the spectrum we see problems and on the other end of the spectrum we see different but equally difficult problems to deal with.
When it comes to health, achieving balance means finding a way to get the things you want into your life and leaving out the things that you don’t want. Again, there is an extreme at both ends that would lead to problems. If you only focus on exercise and nothing else, you will have trouble keeping a job and even put your physical health in jeopardy. If you don’t focus on exercise at all, you will likely have trouble with energy, weight and other health issues that come along with it. These problems are clear-cut, but they are problems none the less. If they are not addressed, they will not go away.
When problems come up in life, we have to find solutions. In most cases, when problems arise, a single solution won’t solve the problem. In fact, rarely does one solution completely solve a problem. In life and especially in health, problems change and more solutions need to be realized.
The reason balance is such an action is that it is something we need to do dynamically. Balance does not simply occur. Even once we have taken action to achieve balance, things can quickly change and require a new action to restore balance. This is where we take our next step.
Balance is good and takes a lot of attention in order to be done well. The next step is re-balancing. Balance is an action that gets you a result for a static moment in your routine. That static moment comes and goes and now we need to balance again.
This rebalance is the difference between a quick fix and a long-term change.
Anyone can find balance and change their routine for a day or a week. But what happens when things change and they need to come up with new solutions? If they are not prepared to rebalance, they simply fall off and go back to the imbalance they had before.
If they are prepared to rebalance, they can come up with a new solution to the new problem. When you do this, you are getting back to balance and everything works again. If you don’t do it, you will continue to deal with the problem and be out of balance until you figure out how you can do it.
Priorities are not a life-long step. What do I mean by that? I mean that priorities need to be addressed regularly. They are not something that you can just set once and be done with it. Priorities, while affecting your entire life, are something that need to be addressed more frequently.
Rebalancing is nothing more than resetting your priorities based on the situation you are in. On Monday, you are starting the week out and have the whole thing in front of you. The problems that come up are different than the problems that may arise on Friday. For this reason, the weekly priorities are different from one day to the next.
You have to decide what your goals are each and every day to make sure that they put you in balance. Even if they are the same from one day to the next, addressing, setting and taking action are required to make sure that they are achieved. If not, the problems that arise will be too much to overcome.
No problem should be too much to overcome. The only problem that you cannot overcome is the problem that you refuse to find a solution for. Balancing is finding a solution to a problem or series of problems. Without balancing you cannot get started on a healthy routine. Rebalancing is finding solutions to more problems that come up as you go. Without rebalancing you cannot live healthy over the long-term.
It is this action that leads us to success in all areas. When it comes to health, balance is something we need to do in order to achieve our goals. Without balance, health is either too extreme and leads to injury or burnout or health is not part of our routine and leads to problems. The latter is clearly more common in our society.
Because action is the one thing that we have control over in our lives, it becomes the most important factor in any area. After the action itself, what that action is used for becomes the most important factor. The areas in which we place the most action are the areas in which we see the most success.
Balance is an area that gets discussed in every aspect of life, so clearly it holds some importance. In health, the importance of balance is nothing to short of crucial. As we have already discussed, on the one end of the spectrum we see problems and on the other end of the spectrum we see different but equally difficult problems to deal with.
When it comes to health, achieving balance means finding a way to get the things you want into your life and leaving out the things that you don’t want. Again, there is an extreme at both ends that would lead to problems. If you only focus on exercise and nothing else, you will have trouble keeping a job and even put your physical health in jeopardy. If you don’t focus on exercise at all, you will likely have trouble with energy, weight and other health issues that come along with it. These problems are clear-cut, but they are problems none the less. If they are not addressed, they will not go away.
When problems come up in life, we have to find solutions. In most cases, when problems arise, a single solution won’t solve the problem. In fact, rarely does one solution completely solve a problem. In life and especially in health, problems change and more solutions need to be realized.
The reason balance is such an action is that it is something we need to do dynamically. Balance does not simply occur. Even once we have taken action to achieve balance, things can quickly change and require a new action to restore balance. This is where we take our next step.
Balance is good and takes a lot of attention in order to be done well. The next step is re-balancing. Balance is an action that gets you a result for a static moment in your routine. That static moment comes and goes and now we need to balance again.
This rebalance is the difference between a quick fix and a long-term change.
Anyone can find balance and change their routine for a day or a week. But what happens when things change and they need to come up with new solutions? If they are not prepared to rebalance, they simply fall off and go back to the imbalance they had before.
If they are prepared to rebalance, they can come up with a new solution to the new problem. When you do this, you are getting back to balance and everything works again. If you don’t do it, you will continue to deal with the problem and be out of balance until you figure out how you can do it.
Priorities are not a life-long step. What do I mean by that? I mean that priorities need to be addressed regularly. They are not something that you can just set once and be done with it. Priorities, while affecting your entire life, are something that need to be addressed more frequently.
Rebalancing is nothing more than resetting your priorities based on the situation you are in. On Monday, you are starting the week out and have the whole thing in front of you. The problems that come up are different than the problems that may arise on Friday. For this reason, the weekly priorities are different from one day to the next.
You have to decide what your goals are each and every day to make sure that they put you in balance. Even if they are the same from one day to the next, addressing, setting and taking action are required to make sure that they are achieved. If not, the problems that arise will be too much to overcome.
No problem should be too much to overcome. The only problem that you cannot overcome is the problem that you refuse to find a solution for. Balancing is finding a solution to a problem or series of problems. Without balancing you cannot get started on a healthy routine. Rebalancing is finding solutions to more problems that come up as you go. Without rebalancing you cannot live healthy over the long-term.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Variety is Healthy
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.
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.
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