Monica Zielinski ▪ July 4, 2023
If you haven’t started your fitness journey yet, I’m sure you’ve told yourself something along the lines of, “I’ll start when I’m ready, when the time is right,” or “Someday I will be ready, just not today.” While the truth is that yes sometimes we are not ready to make a change, there are things you can do to help you get there faster. The sad reality is that many people wait around to feel ready when really, you are ready the moment you truly decide you’re committed to making that change. So how can you decide?
The first step to deciding to be committed is to know where you are and where you want to go. Take note of how you feel in your current situation and then write down how you want to feel and what you want to achieve. Some people get motivated from good things they want to have (ex: more strength and energy) and others find motivation through wanting to prevent, reduce, or eliminate bad things (ex: pain, stiffness, and limitations). Think of both and choose which one means the most to you. This will be your primary driver for the actions you will take. I also want you to write down your WHY statement, which clearly defines your vision for yourself: how you want to look and feel, exactly what you want to be able to do and the life you want to live with this new change, etc. Be as specific as possible. This statement gives you direction and once you know where you’re going (once you’ve set up your GPS), then you can “get in the car” and start driving towards it by taking your first step.
I’m going to be honest with you: taking the first step is the hardest. And I don’t just mean the first step ever. I mean all first steps. The first one you take after “failing” every time. Chances are you’ve been trying to reach your health and fitness goals for quite some time now. The only ones who succeed at reaching their goals are the ones who keep getting up after every mistake or “failure”. By the way, I write “fail” in quotation marks because you really only fail once you stop trying again. How can you build that resilience to keep on going? Understand that it is a process and it takes time.
Be patient with yourself. Great things take time to happen. The change you’re seeking to make is not an overnight kind of thing. You have to make the decision to be committed today and you have to make that decision tomorrow and the day after and every single day onwards. Think about how long it took you to get to this situation, probably years. So it’s going to take time to undo it. Be okay with that. Life and our goals are not a destination but a journey. Even small consistent changes lead to big results over time. Like the stock market, invest a little more in yourself every day and you will experience the snowball effect, which will yield substantial returns.
My last point is to just make it easy on yourself. There is so much information out there, so much misinformation and false advertising just to get you to buy a program or watch the YouTube video. Sorry but you cannot get a slim waist in 7 days if you’re not already close to it. There’s no such thing as spot reduction in fat loss. People want to believe that they can achieve results so quickly because we want the easiest path. But great things are reserved for those who are willing to put in the effort and not take the so-called “shortcut” which only leaves you disappointed and further from your goals, because it’s hard to get back up when you’re knocked down. The sooner you realize and accept that it is a longer process, you’ll be able to push yourself through moments where you don’t feel like doing it because your expectations will be in order. Just like you would go to a hair salon to get your highlights or balayage done, and just like you take your car to a mechanic, I highly suggest doing the same for your body, the vehicle that literally takes you everywhere. Make it easy on yourself. Put all the research, information, and process into the hands of a professional, and just follow their directions. Simple. Easy. Done.
As humans, we fear the unknown: “Where do I start? Am I doing this right? What if I do it wrong? What if I put in all this effort and look like a fool for not achieving my goal?” These thoughts run through our minds all the time. Accept that it is a learning journey and the only way to succeed is to do it, with mistakes and failures as part of it. I’m rooting for you!