When I stopped focusing on the finish line, stuff started to fall into place.
I spent over 20 years chasing a literal finish line racing triathlon. My coach would always remind us that race day, coming across the finish line – all that would be the icing on the cake. The meat of it, the actual making of the cake is in everything we put into the batter. Eating. Sleeping. Resting. Training. Swimming. Biking. Running. Mobility. Strength Training. Body Work.
I would pump myself up SO MUCH for that finish. I had 3 times goals in my back pocket. I would give it my all and then everything I had worked so hard for came down to that finish line. Some finishes were EPIC and some were EPIC disappointments.
Recognizing why you are interested in doing things is an important step of making it part of your life (#HABIT).
What I’ve learned through all of my experience is that you gotta really know YOUR REASON, YOUR WHY to keep doing stuff. And what I know even better than I did before is that your WHY, your REASON, it’s gotta be good; heck it’s gotta be GREAT.
There is a reason that you want to (FILL IN THE BLANK; get in shape, lose weight, get strong, be healthy, age gracefully…) and are committed to giving it a go.
Finding your WHY, your real reason behind wanting to do the thing is that will turn that head goal into real life action!
Instead of thinking “I wish I were healthier” you will start saying “I am healthier because I am doing … fill in the blank again.”
But don’t get it twisted! Habits take a LONG TIME to create and infiltrate; not the 21 days you see all over the internet.
Research shows that habit formation in general takes on average about 10 weeks and the the initial repetitions that we do have the greatest impact on your success.
Can’t make it to workout every day for an hour? Start every day at home for 5 minutes (#reps). Can’t eat clean for every meal? Start with eating clean for 1 meal a day every day (#reps).
Once you start seeing the process as the goal, and not solely focusing on reaching that finish line, you’ll soon realize that the process is effortless and enjoyable. Eating healthy most of the time and exercising most of the time is your new normal. It doesn’t feel like an up uphill battle after all. xoxoLA