What Are You Willing to Do…or NOT Do?

After training clients one on one all of these years, I find myself having the same conversation with people.  This conversation is about not only what they are willing to do to get what they want, but what they are willing NOT to do to get what they want.

Think about it: I am sure that you, like everyone else, would like to set some new goals for your fitness and nutrition plan and make some changes to your body.  You must ask yourself two critical things:

1. What am I willing to do to achieve these goals?

2. What am I willing NOT to do to achieve these goals?

Consider this: in order to achieve a goal, be it losing body fat, increasing muscle mass, increasing flexibility or increasing your cardiovascular capacity, you have to identify the things that you will need to do in order to achieve your goals.  This is how you build your plan, or road map, to success.

At the same time, you have to be willing NOT to do certain things; that is, drop certain habits that may be impeding your progress.

For example, I train a wonderful guy that I consider to be motivated, hard working when it comes to his exercise plan, and well intended.  He shows up for his workouts and is ready to go and try new things.  He does not overeat and he is diligent about taking his supplements.

These are the things that he is willing to do, and God bless him for his efforts.

Conversely, there are a few habits that he is NOT willing to give up that are keeping him from attaining his goals. For instance, even though he does not overeat, there are several changes that I want him to make to the way that he eats: alter the balance of proteins, carbs, and fats in his meals, alter the timing of his meals, decrease his coffee intake, drink less alcohol, etc.  He also needs to get more sleep to decrease his cortisol levels (high cortisol levels promote belly fat, which is an issue for him).

Due to his lifestyle, there are things that he is NOT willing to change, and I understand this.  What he needs to understand is that, based on his unwillingness to alter certain patterns in his life, he will have limited results.

All things considered, you have to not only decide what you want and what you are will to do to get it, but also be very honest with yourself about what you simply are NOT willing to give up.  Factoring this information into the equation will help you not only create a solid plan of action, but it will also give you a realistic idea of how successful you will be with respect to achieving any given goal.

You may need to lower your expectations if you are not willing to let go of certain behaviors or habits that will keep you from getting what you ultimately desire.  No judgment, but just be realistic and proceed accordingly with your plan.

Bottom line: know who you are and what you are willing to do…or NOT do!

Live with Simplicity,

TMS