During a precious break on Wednesday, I had a TV inspired revelation.
During a precious break on Wednesday, I had a TV inspired revelation.
I am a personal trainer and fitness consultant. I am also a small business owner. I recently reread the 1998 bestseller, Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and Your Life by Spencer Johnson. The intent was to find wisdom for my small business (it delivered) but an unintended benefit was also finding a great source of guidance for all of us working out the details of healthier living.
With out giving too much away (I highly recommend you read this book yourself if you have a couple hours), the book addresses simple habits that facilitate navigating change. Whether you want to look better in a swimsuit or need to improve your diet, change is necessary. Your attitude, your patterns or your beliefs may actually be standing in your way. Who Moved My Cheese? provides some perspective to correct such behaviors. These gentle reminders open the door to laugh at oneself, recognize what isn’t working and allow room for a better lifestyle.
Our bodies change through puberty, change after babies, change as we age, change with injury and illness. Change happens. Being angry about change won’t help. Being open to adapting to change with self awareness and quality information CAN help. This powerful skill can help us move through the ebb and flow of staying fit and healthy. We might even come to embrace the process of solution finding, feeling healthy and happy, moving gracefully from one stage to another.
The book is simple and encouraging. If you are struggling with the idea of change in your healthy behaviors and workouts, I recommend you invest a little time to this. The benefits could be unexpectedly delicious.
Please exhale, I am not writing today to respond to a new safari-themed diet fad. (Heaven help us when we get to that point.) I’m writing to offer a little perspective. Occasionally, when we embark on a mission to be healthier we start with an enviable amount of enthusiasm. We join gyms, we set the alarm for a crack of dawn workout, or we tell everyone about our new fabulous diet plan. This “new endeavor energy” soon wanes (two weeks seems to be the norm) and days and weeks go by with out action. We haven’t been to the gym since we signed our membership papers, we hit snooze for a full sixty minutes or hope no one remembers our diet conversation when it’s time to order lunch. The zest for our new plan is replaced with frustration and possibly some confusion. This loss of momentum is where the real work starts and most often where we tend to quit. If we could pause here for just a moment, I’d like to evaluate the problem.
Maybe, we bit off more than we can chew. Adding a new element or changing past behaviors is hard (anyone who says differently is selling something.) Adding too many elements or too drastic of a change is even harder. Let’s take a step back and assess. Was your ambition greater than what is realistic? Could you have experienced more success with smaller goals? simpler tasks? I’d argue, quite possibly, yes. Being healthy is a multifaceted endeavor. The solution to your quandary is the same answer to the question: How do you eat an elephant? ONE BITE AT A TIME. Keeping our tasks doable allows room for success and that success refuels us, unlike the fleeting “new endeavor energy.”
So, try to stop by that gym once this weekend for a 20 minute walk, or pick one day this week for an AM DVD workout, or cook a healthier recipe for dinner every Monday night. The trick is to slowly, steadily chomp away at those old habits so that these new, simple, manageable changes become routine. Once the healthy behaviors are habitual our progress is automatic and eventually everything starts to feel manageable and rewarding. Eating an elephant isn’t impossible, it just has to be tackled one bite at a time.
As much as I provide support and expertise to my clients, they also help me. Sharing what strategies are effective for each of them helps me compile an arsenal of options for success. Recently, a client made SIGNIFICANT improvements to her healthy living habits. Giddy with pride and joy for the implications to her life, I pressed her with the question: “What is making making the difference between completing your habit and not?” Her answer was honest and endearing. She stated, “Just completing the task is easier than ‘dealing with myself’.” I know exactly what she means and I suspect you do too.
Instead of making excuses, procrastinating or enduring a self induced guilt trip, she realized that if she just did it – it was easier. This new plan of attack is simple and brilliant. We are often our own greatest obstacle. What a fabulous revelation – “get out of the way and just get it done.” You didn’t need to read this post to understand this concept but you may have needed to read this client’s experience to be inspired to try it for your self.
These next seven days, whatever the healthy goal, I invite you to just “get ‘er done.” Don’t think, don’t debate, don’t bargain, don’t avoid – just do it. I’m incredibly optimistic you will be quite happy with the results.
First, the Trick:
My absolute favorite trick this month? Toss it: Whether at the office or in our home, most of us have leftover Halloween candy lying around. If it’s there, eventually we will eat it. Take two minutes today and pick out the few pieces you LOVE and then toss the rest. No sense consuming candy you don’t really even like – save your candy fix for the really good stuff.
Make a date with your workout and take it someplace special. Why not visit the Morton Arboretum this weekend for a lovely walk or jog? Yes, many of the leaves have fallen but there is still an abundance of stunning foliage to enjoy (I was just there last weekend.) Plenty to do with the kids if needed and really enjoyable tram rides to see beyond the distance your legs can carry you. Making your workout a special, beautiful, out of the ordinary event might be a wonderful boost to your body and your spirits.
As always, feel free to connect with questions, feedback or interest in scheduling an appointment. Have a wonderful weekend!
All my best, Michelle
Blakely FIT
Strength Training Exclusively for Women
www.blakelyfit.com 773-680-6824 train@blakelyfit.com
Operating out of Symmetry Center: 401 West Ontario, 4th Floor, Chicago IL 60610
