There’s a mindset bridge from here and now, to achieving your health goals. No matter your current state of fitness, you can apply these three elements to support your individual recipe for success:
- Context – First, your plan must take into consideration your unique personality, physical environment, resources, and stresses, both positive and constructive.
- Commitment – Then, you need dedication to see through your goal to the end. If you allow yourself to give up entirely, you won’t achieve what you set out to.
- Consistency – Finally, out of the committed practice comes the repeat action that, over time, leads to you realizing your goal.
What realistically works for you? That’s context. Match your temperament and circumstances to the things you do to work toward your goal. If you want people interaction and love the outdoors, try a biking, running or walking group or join a community sport league or team. Work out with family and friends, distanced if necessary. If you prefer a one-on-one or solo workout, meet with a coach or pull a workout up on your laptop or phone that you can do at home. Any combination of these may work for you, and knowing yourself helps you set up well for each step on the ladder of working toward your goal.
Can you own it? Is is something you can dedicate or re-dedicate to with intention? Are you committed in your mind to staying the course with some flexibility? Do you have a plan for when you don’t feel like being active? Can you make time to meal prep on the weekend and if so, how much time? Sometimes you just need a break, and sometimes you do have to push your plan forward to stick with it. Social support can help: reach out for encouragement when you’re feeling less motivated to action. Revisit your purpose.
Can you keep doing it? Is it too much exercise? Too little fuel? Too taxing for your current work and life schedule? Can you find the motivation, the WHY, to do it over and over again? The health of your mind and body are a sum of the time and effort invested. It’s not enough to do the goal-supportive thing one time. You’ve got to do it over and over again to sustain your healthy behaviors and enjoy full rewards. Happily, when you stick with positive changes over time, eventually they become efficient habits, requiring less effort and paying you back many times over.
So what’s most important to you and why? If you’ve tried in the past and stopped short of your goal, go back to your ingredients. Did you think about context? Did you devote to a realistic goal? Did you practice the pursuit of it daily, weekly, monthly?
Life happens! It’s truly about progress and not perfection. Just like cooking skills and individual dishes get better over time, it takes trial and error to figure out what works best. If you didn’t get the results you wanted in the past, what slowed you down? And how can you get on track now to have more energy, increased confidence and greater well-being? Your healthiest mind and body are within reach and sustainable, one step at a time.
Feel free to DM on Instagram (fastest!) here or e-mail me at blendablebalance@gmail.com with any questions/thoughts you may have! I’m happy to support.