I can almost guarantee you that your big breakthrough in fitness–whether that be fat loss, body recomposition, or smashing a new PB in a race — will coincide with you overcoming a mental obstacle. Usually these obstacles have been lurking in our mind for months, if not years…..
Why is it so many people struggle to hit the goals they set for themselves?
Marketing 101 will tell you it’s because you don’t have the latest….
- Fitness tracking device
- Shoes and clothes
- Latest workout routine
- Secret supplement
- Diet protocol
- The list goes on…..
While one or even a couple of these items *may* indeed help (for example, carbon-plate running shoes definitely help you run faster on the roads) most of this is intended to make you to invest money in the wrong place.
Instead, getting in and staying in the right mindset requires human accountability, daily action, guidance, focus, and internal struggle. There will be setbacks, frustrations, and periods of wanting to say f*ck it and “throw in the towel”……
This is all very normal and you have to be ready to anticipate these roadblocks. Moving past your own limiting beliefs and a broken mindset around why you are stuck and not reaching your goals is “the secret” you are not marketed but the one you actually need the most! (Read that again!)
As long as you continue to believe the longstanding lies your mind feeds you around why you cannot get leaner, faster, stronger, or better disciplined in all these areas, you won’t see the progress you deserve.
So, what should I do about this?
Well, you can do nothing and keep trying the same approach. But as the old saying goes, “Insanity is the definition of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result…”
If I had to start over completely on my journey to better health, better fitness, smarter eating habits, and learning to get faster, stronger, and more confident with my body, I would first seek out people in my network to learn from, work with, and get guidance from. I wasted a lot of time watching youtube videos, listening to podcasts, and getting educated on these topics without actually taking action in my own life. When I did invest in a program online, I spent over $1000 dollars and got ONE phone call with the guy. There are way better programs and coaches. Don’t make that same mistake!
Second, I would start to set up my environment to help me achieve my goals. This means looking around at what equipment might help me– both in the gym and kitchen– as well as other fitness centers, running groups, grocery stores, and food delivery services in my area. I know this sounds like the marketing list I told you to be wary of….but there is a strong connection between what we see and what we do! For example setting out your workout clothes the night before a personal training session or a run can greatly help us actually do the damn thing and not hit snooze!
Last but not least, I would keep an accountability journal, private or public, to document the difficult changes I want to achieve. I first did this online when I wanted to gain 30lbs of muscle back in 2014. While I never was able to put on that much weight, I did get stronger and made some good progress in the gym because I kept track of my lifts, my food, and even took several “progress pics”. Before that, I kept a running journal and re-started that at the end of 2018 when I started to really train seriously again. The bottom line is your mind has a funny way of tricking you into believing things are either working too well, or not working at all….use a journal or coach to help make sure this is not the case!
