By Michael Krueger
There comes a time when you simply know that it’s time to make a change. It may be precipitated by a particular event, or it may just be a gut feeling. Either way, you know that it’s time.
Sometimes even though you know you need to make a change it isn’t always obvious exactly what you should do. You might need to lose some weight, get stronger, and improve your endurance, but that is a daunting list and can cause some serious paralysis.
So what do you do?
How You Know
When it comes to your health and fitness, you’ve probably been aware of the need for some changes for quite a while and you’ve just been very good at rationalizing it away. Then the day comes when you just can’t ignore your lack of energy, extra pounds, and pitiful endurance anymore, and you know something must be done.
This time of year, a lot of people are dealing with this revelation, and a lot of people will try to address it and fail. Some will make changes for a while, and some will fret until the feeling passes and never even start. Still others will make the changes needed and by the time summer arrives will have made some good progression toward their goals.
Which group you fall into depends on how closely you listened to that little voice that told you now was the time to make a change. Some people have an uncanny ability to ignore their own advice. In fact, some will never make the changes they want for so many reasons that I couldn’t begin to enumerate them all.
Most everyone, even if they are now successful, has failed at some point. You need to understand why you failed to improve your chances for success next time around. In fitness, it is often because we focus too much on muscle and might and not enough on heart and mind. Understanding your motivations, hopes, and fears will give you a leg up on making this time the last time you need to start over.
Taking Control
I’ve gone on and on about making specific time-sensitive goals a priority, and I’m not going back on that. The difference this time is that aside from those goals, I want you to remind yourself all day every day why you are working so hard on your fitness goals. This isn’t about the specific goals you have; this is about the big warm and fuzzy “I want to feel good, I want to be healthy, I want to be happy” sort of big-picture goal. I want you to pay attention to your life and judge everything you do all day long by the standard of “Is what I’m about to do moving me closer to or farther from my goal?”
Your thoughts are what are going to make or break you here. Training your mind is even harder than training your body. You know that it’s always been your head that has failed you, not your body. You need to come up with a little mantra, or phrase, to continually remind you that you want to move toward your goals, not away from them. It needs to be short, to the point, and easy to remember.
The role of your mantra is to get you to weigh each decision during your day against your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, repeat your mantra before you grocery shop, before you cook, and before you eat. When people bring in treats for a birthday or whatever, repeat your mantra. When you see a commercial on TV for a food or restaurant, repeat your mantra. This way, all these outside influences have to get past your filter before they can get into your head (and your mouth).
An easy phrase to remember that covers most every fitness goal is “Health, Appearance, Performance.” If anything you are doing doesn’t enhance one of these areas of your life, then it doesn’t belong in your life. Saying this phrase repeatedly throughout your day will keep your thoughts in line and your priorities in order.
If you start your day with your mantra, you will put a positive spin on your whole day. Perhaps you will eat a good breakfast and pack a lunch rather than eat coffee and donuts, because you know a good breakfast keeps you from snacking and a home-packed lunch is healthy and nutritious. Maybe you will go for a walk or get in some exercise before heading out to work. Your attitude will be better simply because you are being mindful that everything you are doing is moving you toward your goal.
Think of all the opportunities you will have to examine your life through the filter of your mantra; then, by taking control and making a choice rather than just living mindlessly, implement a positive change. When you park your car, will you look for a place near the building or farther away? Will you pack your own nutritious lunch rather than go eat suspect restaurant food? Will you carry some nuts or fruit for a snack rather than eat chips and pop? Will you turn in earlier when you have the opportunity to ensure you get enough sleep, or will you kick back on the couch and watch mindless late-night TV? By running all your rote behaviors through your filter, you’ll find you’ll make better choices and you’ll do this because you really want to. This will lower the stress levels in all aspects of your life because you are finally actually doing what you want to do … and this is just the beginning.
Sticking with It
We all know that making a change isn’t the hard part; sticking with it is. Behavioral changes are by far the hardest type of changes to make permanent. It’s one thing to work out for an hour; it’s another thing entirely to maintain a healthy, mindful, and positive attitude all day.
You will have good days and bad, but that’s OK, just keep coming back to your guiding phrase and soon you’ll be right back on track. Don’t beat yourself up for your failures, since criticizing and berating yourself will not bring you closer to your goals, and that’s the whole point.
This one change in attitude will beget many other changes. By running everything through your filter, you will begin to train more effectively, efficiently, and consistently. By putting your eating habits to the test, you will begin eating more natural, less processed, and more healthful food so your overall health will improve. Soon you will have more energy to do more of the things that will create even more forward progress. Before long, your weight and body fat will go down, your strength and endurance will go up, your attitude will improve, and this all happens because you are living in tune with your goals. You’re finally living authentically, doing what you always said you wanted to do.
Every time you ask the question “Is this taking me closer to my goal?” you will be training your mind to make a better choice. Soon you will find yourself asking the question less frequently because you already know the answer, which is, “Of course it is; otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
One Year from Now
If you keep up this filtering behavior for a full year, you will be amazed at the changes you’ll see. Your physical strength will be at levels you never thought possible. Your cardiovascular system will be more efficient than ever. All of your metabolic markers will show vast improvements, and you will be eating delicious and nutritious food simply as a matter of course.
All this is possible because you’ve honestly asked yourself one simple question: “Is what I’m about to do moving me closer to or farther from my goal?”
… And then you acted on the answer.
Michael Krueger is an NSCA-certified personal trainer. He got his start in fitness training while serving in the United States Coast Guard. He works with firefighters and others in and around Madison, Wisconsin. He is available to fire departments, civic organizations, and athletic teams for training, consulting, and speaking engagements. He has published numerous articles on fitness, health, and the mind-body connection and was a featured speaker at the IAFC’s FRI 2009 Health Day in Dallas, Texas. E-mail him at MKPTLLC@gmail.com.
