From Couch to Cardio - where do you start?
How do you do it? Like how do you really do it? How do you get fitter, exercise more, eat healthier and turn your life into something that makes you want to wake up each morning?
First things first what do you ACTUALLY want? Because here's the thing: it's easy to get hung up on what the rest of the world looks like and is saying or doing but that doesn't mean you should follow the same path.
Right now before we go any further I want you to answer the 3 questions below:
What do you want? What is your goal? Be specific! So for example rather than saying I want to get a better shape you could say...."I'd like to build more muscle or reduce fat". Instead of "eat healthy" you could turn that into "Eat 3-4 meals a day". It may feel tough but this is where the real change begins. It gives you an actionable target to work towards. It is far too easy to write down vague goals then do anything that fits and tell yourself you did it so that you don't feel guilty. I want you to really dream big and WRITE IT DOWN! Remember this is for you, don't look around at others and feel that you "should" have certain goals for your life. This is YOUR one life and the goals you set here will make a difference to YOUR life! Nobody else has to know what your goals are unless you want them to or it involves them of course!
Why do you want it? Let's get personal here: what is your main motivation for wanting what you want? Will cutting down junk food make you feel happy? Will sculpting a lean dancer body make you happy? Will having clear skin and healthy hair leave you feeling better? If yes write it down underneath your Why from above. If no keep digging to find why this goal means so much. What will it help you to improve in your life? Perhaps if the goal doesn't help improve something then maybe it's not really a goal but something you feel you have to do perhaps? Remember you are living YOUR life and nobody else's so please be true to yourself!
How will achieving this goal make you feel? And how do you feel about this goal? I'm going to be brutally honest here and say that if your goal doesn't excite you or scare you or even both then something is missing. It could be that your goal isn't truly connected to something you want. You may feel a mix of things like wonder at how you will achieve it? or fear of potentially giving up and going back to your comfort zone. Writing it down puts it infront of you and makes it real.
Next steps...
Once all your answers are written down try to streamline it so that you have 3 statements: your goal, the why behind it and how it makes you feel plus how you will feel once the goal comes true. Put it all one one piece of paper or card and keep it somewhere you will see it often. This is extremely important because I want you to look at this regularly to remind yourself of what you are working for. Trust me this works.
Be honest..
You will have days when you think "this is just a dream! Who am I kidding that this is possible?!: and then you will have days where you work solidly and the wheels turn and you'll think "I've got this!" More to come on these mindset shifts in future posts...stay tuned.
Step 1 above is the most important because you need to know what you want for you and nobody else. We'll talk more about accountability buddies, mantras and training resources etc in later posts. For now please know that by having your goal/s written down you are already 10 times more likely to succeed than if you were to keep dreaming of a better tomorrow.
Coming up next post: looking at where you are today to work on building your tomorrow.