By no means am I trying to destroy the motivation that some of you may be experiencing with the fresh slate of a new year and some new goals placed before you. But it drives me nuts when people make these promises to themselves to eat healthy foods, start going to the gym regularly, quit drinking, etc., then give up after only weeks or even days because they supposedly blew it for the year. I fully expect, along with countless other fitness people, to see a major influx of new faces at the gym next week, hogging the equipment without knowing how to use it and increasing the temperature of the gym to hatching-baby-chicks hot, only to see a drop off shortly after Valentine’s Day. It really is a shame that many individuals lack the drive to keep after their goals and only find yet another excuse to abandon the idea of bettering themselves for the long run. SO WHAT if it is a new year, and SO WHAT if you mess up after a few days or weeks? The most important thing is to keep your eye on the prize and get back up on that horse!
If you think I don’t have moments of weakness, I will tell you right now that I am human just like the rest of you. While I do not indulge in bad foods frequently, I will have an occasional treat, meal or feast that is well outside the definition of a clean meal. On rare occasions I will miss a workout, though this happens once a year (in fact it just happened today because I have been battling the flu since yesterday). But if I were to say, “okay, I blew it for 2013”, then of course that would be the perfect cop-out and I would no longer have the pressure to conform to a schedule or continue to pursue a goal.
Ask yourself this: WHY do you have a goal to lose weight, eat better, (fill in the blank)? If you have an understanding of the psychology behind your goal, and if you develop a do-or-die attitude, you will increase the chances of reaching your goal dramatically. Make your choices the types of choices that are made for a lifetime. Be specific about your goal and have a SPECIFIC PLAN in place, whether that plan is a written workout schedule, printed meal plan, timeline for when and how you will make measures to get that promotion at work, etc.
Every day spent with a focused mindset will get you closer to your goals. Allow yourself the occasional slipup but also refrain from allowing such incidents to completely derail you from what it is you really want.
I may upset a lot of people by saying this, but I cannot stand hearing a competitor talk about an upcoming contest they plan to do, only to back out at the very last minute. I can understand how a significant family emergency, significant illness or a significant injury can undermine plans to compete at a specific event, but I have heard everything from a lack of financial preparedness, to going on a vacation in which all self-control is abandoned, to failing to follow a contest prep plan faithfully, etc., as reasons for pulling out of an event. It is just one excuse after another. Yes, that’s right, I said excuse.
