With the first client of the afternoon done, and 7 more on the way, now’s the perfect time for a quick blog.
As is the case with all our blogs, there’s a great lesson in it for you if you’re open to it.
With February only 2 days away, how many people can say they are still on track with whatever health, fitness and weight loss goals they set for themselves just a few short weeks ago?
If I was to guess, I would say, unfortunately, not many. And I would also commit to saying that there is one main reason why.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they decide to get started, turn a new leaf, commit for the last time, or whatever else you want to call it, is that they set the bar way to high for their current abilities and starting point.
This is especially true in January, when people are being driven by Christmas guilt and excess. They’ll do anything to change how they are feeling, and the sooner they can do it the better.
“If i change everything in a short amount of time, I’lll reach my goals so much quicker.”
They dive in, overhaul everything in one go, and wake up the next morning a different person- committed, focused, anti-chocolate and anything containing sugar, and a born-again gym junkie.
This will get them to their goals if you think it logically. They are doing way more of the right stuff and far less of the ‘bad stuff’.
But the problem is that this approach doesn’t take into account their human tendencies to rebel, get bored, become impatient, etc. and the fact that they are going to meet a million unforeseen challenges along the way that will make juggling all those different balls become impossible.
They’ve taken on way more than they can handle. They’ve raised the bar far too high and way too quickly and the end result is always to revert back to old habits and behaviour patterns- less exercise, more processed food, less water, etc.
One of the phrases that I always use, is that anyone who says they are an ‘all or nothing’ type of person, always ends up doing nothing in the end. The ‘all’ part only lasts for a few weeks at most. I’ve know this to be true from years of experience.
So what’s the solution?
You need to raise your standards for whats acceptable to you, but lower the bar in order to succeed.
The approach we take with clients is the opposite. We advise them to raise their standards for what they’ll accept for themselves when it comes to their health, fitness & quality of life.
Binge drinking, not eating any veggies or fruit, going to bed at 1 or 2 in the morning and only getting 3-5 hours sleep (and trudging through the day as a result), not exercising, smoking, not drinking any water, guzzling back cans of fizzy drinks every day, etc. are simply not acceptable for them any more.
They’re better than that and need to respect themselves enough to change. Their family, business, employer, dependants, etc. also deserve the best version of themselves.
Simply put, it’s showing themselves a little love and self respect so that they live a more rewarding and enjoyable life.
Nothing wrong with that, agreed?
Once they have they have raised their standards of what’s acceptable for them ,we then have them lower the bar so that they can achieve one small victory. We then raise the bar slightly and achieve the next victory, which isn’t that far out of reach.
Then we move onto the next, and the next, and the next. They still make all the changes required but in a much more sustainable way that doesn’t overwhelm them.
They’re also in a much better position to ward off any challenges they face because they don’t have too much to focus on.
Summary
So many people struggle to achieve the results they want because they set the bar way too high for themselves and take on far too much to handle. One little hiccup and everything comes crashing down.
If you want to succeed, raise your standards for what’s acceptable of yourself, and them lower the bar so that victories come easy. This is the sure way to health, fitness and fat loss success.
Steve
Leave a Reply