“I want to lose weight.” “I want to be the best version of myself.” “I want to get stronger and more fit.” “I really want to push my body to new limits.” These are things I hear daily from clients. These are ALL great and attainable goals.
Now, saying you want it and actually doing it are very different. One thing I will commonly hear is someone saying “I am committing to my fitness – 3 days/week, no matter what.” Then they get sick, or a curve ball gets thrown their way one week and I don’t see them for a month, or at times, never again.
One thing people have to understand is that investing in your fitness, health and performance is not a short term attainable goal. Results take real time, they actually take so long that we tend not to realize we are getting better or looking different. When I hear people tell me they are 100% invested in improving themselves, but then skip their training for a social function, or because they have a “nagging” injury, I automatically think to myself, are you really invested?
We all have real life stress, responsibilities and things we need to take care of. These things include family, jobs, bills to pay, kids hockey games, meetings, the list goes on and on. If people are truly invested in themselves to be a healthier, fitter person then they will FIND THE TIME. I actually cannot stress this enough, if your fitness, health, body composition and nutrition are actually a priority in your life, YOU WILL FIND THE TIME. Maybe that means you have to get your running done at 5am before work. YOU GET THE RUNNING DONE AT 5am. Why? The answer is simple – because I am committed to my own personal fitness and health. I honestly like to think having discipline and being outside your comfort zone is one of the healthiest things someone can do. It teaches you great values on what it’s like to work hard and it gives you a HUGE SENSE OF PRIDE.
Think about that? Trust me, it is VERY easy to make excuses. I could easily make an excuse almost every day. “Im tired”, “I had a bad day at work”, “Id rather be outside, its so nice”. We all just have to truly ask ourselves, how bad do you want it? Are you willing to be a bit selfish for your own personal fitness.
The real magic is in the JOURNEY. I understand that saying you have to be selfish to achieve your goals is almost a bit harsh, but it is kind of true. If your priority in your life is your family then how can you be there for them, if you can’t take care of yourself?
I think we often get to caught up in our GO GO, need to do this, need to be here society that it is quickly easy to forget just how important your health and wellness is, not just to yourself, but to others around you.
The next time you say you have a goal and you want to achieve it, ask yourself are you willing to work really hard, commit no matter what life throws at you, and actually set out and crush those goals, instead of just say you want to achieve them?
So true. My life went through dome rough times in the last year. My mother had a stroke and I had to be away 2 to 3 times a week to be with her. Also had to take on things for her she could no longer get do. Also had a nagging knee problem but still made it to the gym 3 to 4 days a week and stuck to the plan! You have to want it!!!