by David Minishian | Nov 17, 2017 | Behaviors
Being Consistent
I haven’t been exercising consistently for the last year.
I told myself “life is too busy“.
Sounds like a valid excuse right? Well, life isn’t pausing so I can workout.
Life is always going to be busy, and as a personal trainer it’s even harder to motivate myself to exercise when I talk about it all day every day.
I’m not different than anyone else. I need a support group: people that hold me accountable, people that keep me consistent, people that don’t let me slack off.
This last year I decided to lift weights four times a week on my own and do cardio once a week with a soccer team. Can you guess what workout was consistent every week?
The Answer – Support Groups
Yeah, it was the soccer!
Having a team made a HUGGEEE difference. My team depended on me, expected me to be there, and noticed when I didn’t show up. The one time I didn’t show up, I got a text message, “Where you at, bro?”
My soccer team was a support system. A group of people that held me accountable. A group of people that knew I was suppose to be playing soccer every Thursday night at 7pm. And because of this system I attended every soccer game except one.
But how often did I go to the gym and lift weights during this time?…at most, once a month.
When I lifted weights with my roommate, I lifted weights almost every day. That is the difference of a support system.
Can you answer YES to these questions with confidence?
- Do you have a support system?
- Does your support system hold you accountable to a schedule?
- Is your support system reliable?
If you couldn’t say YES to all of these questions, you probably aren’t getting the results you want.
by David Minishian | Nov 17, 2017 | Behaviors
Identify The Barriers
Work, school, errands, kids, family events, cooking…Barriers stand between you and setting your health as a priority. These are real obstacles that physically or mentally stop you, and these barriers won’t go away on their own.
They must be addressed, but even before that you must identify the barriers.
Here is my system for identifying barriers. It’s done by working backwards.
- Write down your goal
- Ask what is required of you to reach that goal
- List the possible obstacles for meeting those requirements
Overcoming Barriers
Now that you’ve identified the barriers, you can create a plan to overcome them.
Barrier Rule #1 ~ Don’t limit yourself to overcoming barriers alone. You can request the participation or approval of others like a spouse, boss, or friend. If you need help, ask. The worst anyone can tell you is no…
Barrier Rule #2 ~ Respect the barriers and find a solution that works every time. Don’t neglect barriers as so small or insignificant that your willpower will overcome them. The barriers you discredit will cause you to stumble.
Barrier Rule #3 ~ Believe there is a solution and you only need to find it. If you think you can, you’re right. If you think you can’t, you’re still right.
Prioritizing Your Health
Once you’ve created solutions to overcome your barriers, prioritizing your health is possible. The heavy lifting is out of the way, and those roadblocks will no longer overshadow your goals.
At this point you have reached the fun part of pursuing your goals with confidence. With every milestone you become more encouraged, more enthusiastic about your accomplishments. You become unstoppable in your pursuit.
It’s an indescribable feeling that most will never reach in their health journey.
Why?
Because they never overcame the obstacles that stood in the way. Instead, they tried to skip steps and get straight to the results.
Whether it is your health, relationships, education or business, there is a process to success. Skip the process and you’ll be missing a firm foundation to stand on. Eventually, that weak foundation will cause it all to crumble to the ground.
For years I’ve watched people try to compromise and find ways around the barriers, without addressing them.
These individuals have NEVER been successful long term.
But this doesn’t have to be you, shackled to your barriers.
Just follow the three step process:
- Identify them
- Overcome them
- Then prioritize your health