- Pick something, and stick to it.
It sounds simple enough, but all around us there is distraction. Whatever it is that you want to achieve, there will always be people swaying you from your course. Whether it is your friends, parents, or other half, someone will ALWAYS have an opinion. When you clicked that link a few days ago because you wanted to get some information on how to eat more healthily – whether that was because you want to lose weight, build muscle, or simply were interested in what is healthy and what is not, your thirst for knowledge compelled you to click. Ignore the people telling you it can’t be done. Ignore the people giving you negative energy and trying to distract you from what you want to do. Some people live by putting down others, and telling you that what you’re doing is wrong. One of the girls training with us kept being disheartened by a co-worker telling her everything she was doing was wrong “don’t eat that”, “why are you training like that”, etc. Our girl stuck with what we were telling her and ended up losing 10kgs of fat in 2 months. You need determination and focus to pick something and stick to it.
Don't forget, change is UNCOMFORTABLE. Humans don't like change, and often they don't like change in others too, because it brings out their own insecurities. Making a change is hard, because it involves doing something differently to what and how you've always done.
The result is SELF CONFIDENCE.
- Decide truly, what it is you want, and why
When a new client or member walks into the studio, my first question is always WHY? Why are you doing this? What do you want? It’s not enough to say ‘I want to lose a bit of weight’ or ‘I want to tone up’. (Well it is, but the point is that we build on this!) Why do you want to do this? What is the underlying reason? If you lose weight, how will you feel? (Forgive me writing the answer for you, and if I’m wrong, DO tell me… But from experience with clients) The answer is SELF CONFIDENCE. If you lose weight, you will look better, and you will be more confident, and you won’t be scared to try on that dress or that outfit because you won’t be scared of how you will look. You won’t be scared to talk to that girl at the bar because you’re happier with how you feel within yourself. It might not just be aesthetic - do your knees, or back, or shoulders hurt? I guarantee they will hurt less if you have more muscle (and strength) and are carrying around less bodyfat. What if you have a history of heart disease in your family? The WHY is the most important thing in deciding. If you know truly WHY you want something, then you won’t be distracted by the naysayers as mentioned in the point above. You will know that whatever anyone says, or does, you have that reason underpinning your actions, and will be motivated to take that step, and continue taking those steps, and improving.
- Make yourself accountable
The last step is accountability. Somehow, make yourself accountable. Often, clients come to us simply because they need someone watching over their shoulder, emailing or texting them telling them to get things done. Some just want to show up and get told to do things, and then leave. They don’t want to think about it anymore than that. But that is enough to satisfy that urge for accountability. And that's ok. Some people need more than that. They need their food written out and sessions organised weeks in advance. That's ok too. You have to know what works for you. But once you DO know, make sure that when you enlist the help of someone, you get someone who is going to work with you in the way you want, and need.
So that is my final message: Make yourself accountable. You'll do better than you ever have done.
So there it is. Thanks for reading. My top 3 strategies for helping change your body and your life; the 3 things that helped me the most when attempting to change anything in my life, especially my physique.
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