I’m going to share a hard truth. Motivation isn’t enough to get you from where you are, to whatever version of your best self you can imagine. BJ Fogg creates a fun image in his book Tiny Habits where he explains the Motivation Monkey and how this silly fella will help you get all these great ideas, lose 10lbs, run a 5k, eat veggies every day and he might even get you far enough to join a gym, sign up for a race and go grocery shopping. Then, do you know what he does? HE BAILS ON YOU! You’re left with a fancy new scale, a bib number and bundle of broccoli with zero desire to do anything at all. That’s why motivation isn’t enough. Motivation is NOT the key to success. So what IS the answer? It’s one word. One thing that could change the entire makeup of your health and wellness journey. Consistency. When I say consistency, I don’t mean perfection. I mean doing something more often than you’re not doing it and being both comfortable and happy with what you accomplished. Perfection is the enemy of progress. Perfection needs you to be 100% on board 100% of the time. Consistency knows life happens. Consistency gives you grace instead of anxiety. Consistency will let you see results over time and maintain them while perfection will take those results away the second you stumble. In order to achieve consistency, we have to figure out where our comfort zone ends and our willingness to grow begins. We want to make the first step as painless and achievable as possible. We’re going to take another cue from Mr. Fogg and think tiny. If our goal is to lose weight, then what are some things we can do to lose weight? Brainstorm a list of everything you can think of that will help you lose weight. Here’s some examples to get you started:Exercise more, eat less, eat more veggies, eat more fruits, drink more water, join a gym, take more walks, buy a fitness watch… Keep adding more ideas if you can, the longer this list is, the better. Now scan through these ideas and think to yourself. Which ideas would be the MOST impactful to achieving your goal? In weight loss, exercising more and eating less are typically good ideas for most people. (There’s a lot of variables here but for the sake of this blog, we’ll stick to the basics). Joining a gym can be fun since not everyone has equipment at home. Great, so now we know those are our most impactful ideas, but which of these ideas are YOU most likely to ACTUALLY do? It’s time to be honest. Do you even want to exercise? Is joining a gym in your budget? Maybe both of those answers are no. That’s okay. What about eating veggies? Have you seen some cool recipes lately? Maybe fruits would be easier to start with. Walking is free and easy to do and your dogs would love it. Let’s review. We’ve established that we know what would make a huge impact towards our goals; joining a gym, working out, eating less. But we’ve recognized that we don’t really want to do the first two things and eating less doesn’t sound great so maybe eating differently is the answer. You’re willing to walk and introduce more fruit to your diet. EXCELLENT! Suddenly, we have a starting point. Both of these will have a positive impact on your goals and both feel achievable. Very important categories. Now if you’re comfortable here, just deciding to walk more and eat fruit, great. Stop reading and get started. If that sounds too vague to succeed, that’s fine, let’s keep going. Now you’re a busy adult and walking takes time. Where do you see fitting walking into your routine? You’re not a morning person and it’s scary dark by the time you get home? What about doing a lap around the office during your lunch break? Excellent, one lap around the office Monday through Friday. Nailed it. What about fruit? Apples and bananas are easy to buy, prepare and transport. Would it be realistic to substitute your afternoon chips with an apple instead? Neat. There is a big lie perpetuated by many in the fitness industry and social media in general that in order to make a life change, it has to be dramatic and intense. In fact, the opposite proves more impactful and more importantly, sustainable. Making small changes that you can do consistently will earn you results that you can maintain even through tricky life situations. If this is something that sounds interesting or potentially helpful to you, feel free to reach out to GoTime to discuss Health Coaching which is a service for anyone who’s ever said “I know what to do but…” We’ll sit down and come up with a sustainable solution that you’re comfortable and confident with executing. Anjelica Haberlein ACE Certified Personal Trainer ACE Certified Health and Wellness Coach Been in the Fitness Industry Since: 2017
