Small Steps, Big Changes
One of the hardest things about falling off the health and fitness wagon is getting started again. Many people will be on a roll for a while and getting great results and then life kicks you in your junk and knocks you down. The truth is that this happens to even the most dedicated people from time to time. This post was written to help you get back up and get back at it. If you are having trouble getting motivated to start exercising and eating healthy, please keep reading.
It’s not if life gets in the way and derails your training and nutrition program but when. The trick is get going again. Fortunately, it is not as hard as you think. A common problem is once someone falls off for a while, they get frustrated and oftentimes depressed. Part of the reason for this is that people feel like if they are not able to do as well as they were doing before then it is not worth doing at all. The other reason is that people tend to look at the big picture of everything they have to do to get back to where they were and get intimidated and scared. The trick is to not even think about what you were doing before or all if the things you “should” or “have” to do but focus on one small action step towards your goal that you can do now. Less thinking, more doing.
Depending on how long you have been out of the training and nutrition game you may be very out of shape, feel weak, tight, aches and pains etc. The key is to keep your action step as simple as possible. Do not make it more overwhelming than it already seems to be. Do not try to go from zero to 100 in a week. Simply pick something small that you feel 100% confident that you can do. For example, set out your gym clothes for the next day’s workout and then walk 10 minutes. Do 10 squats and 10 push-ups 2-3 times per week. If you want to start eating healthier and you have been eating ice cream every night, then starting by not eating ice cream for one night. Sure, you may be thinking “what is that little bit of exercise or dietary change going to do for me?” The answer is to build momentum and confidence. Contrary to what many believe motivation does not lead to action. Action leads to motivation. This approach works for everything in life. The key is that once you start getting some small wins you feel better. You feel accomplished you get into a flow. Then over time you begin to want to do more and more and before you know it you are back at it full swing and kicking ass.
If you have been stuck for awhile or unmotivated to exercise or eat healthy then pick something easy. Even if it is just a small step towards your goal and start by doing that step each day. Then build on it from there. Every great journey began with a first step. Make you first step small and easy and in a short time you will look back and say to yourself ‘Wow, look how far I have come?”
Yours in health,
Kevin
