Today on first day of the week, you can plan to have a victorious seven days. Here’s a few tips that might help.
1-Decide what you really want.
Sometimes we think that we want something but it’s actually just a passing whim. Before you move Heaven and Earth to make a thing come to pass, be sure that you want it. There’s no need in going out and buying a thousand dollars worth of brand name workout clothes unless you are going to work out. The extra expense on your credit card will just stress you out and encourage binge eating.
2-Decide if you are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.
Wanting a thing and being willing to make the sacrifices and put in the hard work to make it happen are different. There is nothing that is worth having that comes easy. Just know that going in. Unless you are willing to work hard at something, you are just going to frustrate yourself and dig a deeper hole than you were in before you started.
3-Make a plan.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just research and get the knowledge that you need to create the objective that you have in mind. Base your plan on facts, not fantasy and pop “science”. I strongly encourage you to visit David’s Way daily for everything from recipes to encouragement. We post something most days. If we don’t, go to the search box and type in a word that is on your mind and find something to read. You can also leave comments or use the “Contact” button and we will get back to you, most likely both of us.
4-Take the first step.
Quite often the difference in failure and victory is just getting started! It seems like a “duh”, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who stop here. They’ve bought the outfit, paid the membership, bought special food and that’s it. They never begin to work the plan. If you work out for five minutes, you will most likely finish your workout.
5-Dig in.
Be realistic about your goals and the time frame that will be necessary to achieve them. In a perfect world with a perfect life, you could make much faster progress than you can with stress from work, home and the world at large. You will not be able to spend all of your time working on your goal so allow a realistic window to see progress. Dig in and be prepared to winter the storm. You will struggle and want to quit. It will be hard, very hard. Accept that now. You are not in this for the short term. This has to become your lifestyle to be truly successful. There is no rush. Your goal should be good health for the rest of your life.
6-Be ready to adjust.
After seeing progress and gains in muscle mass and/or overall fitness, it becomes necessary at some point to change some things. What you change will be dependent on your goals. I have a very specific goal that I’m working towards and I adjust my program a little all along to accommodate that goal. My program gets progressively harder, never easier. I made up my mind going in that I would not stop. This is the rest of my life. I want to see specific cuts and have overall robust strength. As I progress and see how my body responds to various foods and lifts, I adjust accordingly and I see continuing improvements towards my goals.
7-Shut out the negative feedback.
This is critical because change is never easy. We rebel against it with everything in us at times. The very last thing that we need are people around us who disagree with our goals. I simply don’t go around them. The old saying, “If you can’t say something good then don’t say anything at all.” is ingrained in my psyche. I rearranged my entire life on a grand scale to live this way. Now the only voices that I allow in my life are those who are supportive of my way of life. I’m a health freak. It’s not going to change. I will not listen to negative feedback about that for 30 seconds. Don’t answer their texts or calls. Be responsible. You are in control of the input into your life. Make it positive.
8-Be proud of your success.
When you see progress it’s okay to feel good about yourself and be proud. The progress didn’t come easily. You worked hard to get where you are. You will notice that your confidence will grow by leaps and bounds across the board when you get truly fit. That’s fine. You deserve it.
9-Accept that this is normal.
A common pitfall for many on their road to health is thinking that getting healthy is a temporary anomaly that will bring about a specific goal and then it’s done. Guess again. This is your new normal or it will be temporary. David says that “You don’t own your present level of fitness. You’re only paying rent.” That simply means that we have to keep it up. This is what life is like from now on so learn ways to make it fun. Try different foods and recipes that are here on the blog and find a fitness program that works for you that you can incorporate into your life on a daily basis.
10-Do it again.
When you fail at a lift or have a bad eating day, don’t quit. Just get up and do it again. There is no quitting if you really want to be healthy. What would you go back to, sickness and dysfunction? Healthy people do still get sick and have injuries and problems in our everyday life but I can promise you, it’s a whole lot less than we would have if we quit. Our lives aren’t perfect because we’re healthy but they sure are a whole lot easier to navigate.
Now, get up and charge into your week and show it who’s Boss. You are. Now work that thing. It’s up to you. You’re life is in your hands. Create.