Getting fit and working out is all about doing it (think Nike). Some people struggle with the initiative to go to the gym and therefore need a personal trainer to force them to go (or have the consequence of losing all that money they payed). If this is you, you must learn to stick to the schedule and trust the process.
In order to do this, it may help to think about the task at hand a bit differently (change your paradigm). First you must make a reasonable schedule that you intend to stick to. So make it a realistic one that you think you can accomplish, a couple of days a week might be a good start. This step will be paramount to the rest of the paradigm shift.
PRIORITIZE YOUR WORKOUT
When suggesting stick to the schedule, all that means is that you have a responsibility and you fulfill that responsibility. In order to do that, you must be able to prioritize. So let’s say you suggest “I want to go to the gym today”, but somehow you don’t make it to the gym. That means you’re putting other things and prioritizing them over where the gym should be. This habit must be changed if you intend to stick to the schedule.
Let’s do an exercise as far as sticking to the schedule. You want to make it so that the gym is at the top (or near it) of your priority list and that you shift the way you view it. So rather than saying, “Oh I’m going to the gym today, I hope I don’t embarrass myself later doing an exercise or sweat too much because I hate the gym”. You instead say, “Hey I have an appointment with improving xyz of my body today”. This is a very important appointment. So if you instead flip your thought process to make it something that’s important and you give it the appointment priority, it’ll be much easier to stick to your schedule. Especially if you say I have an appointment for something that is specific and can be measured. For example, if you say to yourself “I want to to lose this gut”.
TREAT YOUR WORKOUT LIKE AN APPOINTMENT
You can frame that as, “Hey I have an appointment for losing this gut at 2pm today”. So after I get off work, I’m going to my appointment to lose this gut. Having that mindset and thinking about things in that manner will change the way you view your life and shift your priorities. Now if something else comes up, you’ll instead think “Well hold on, I have an appointment with losing this gut so that meeting has to be penciled in somewhere”. Can I push that back? Ok, maybe I’ll push it back, maybe I won’t. This makes it become more of a priority throughout your day and you’re able to hopefully after many appointments get to the result that you want and actually lose that gut, which is your end goal and will according to you bring you a sense of accomplishment.
CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT PARADIGM
Some other goals could be “Today, I have an appointment with the gym to improve my coordination”. Or “I have an appointment with the gym to lose 10 pounds for this upcoming event”. Or “I have an appointment with the gym to build my self esteem and feel better about being out and about in public”.
Just as you wouldn’t miss an important business meeting with one of your most valuable clients, you also won’t miss this gym appointment for a goal in the future since that is right up there with your important meeting as far as importance. Once you shift your paradigm, making it to the gym will eventually become second nature.
With this mindset, you’ll able to meet all of the appointments necessary to reach your goal. So I would highly recommend shifting the way you think about working out and going to the gym towards the actual goals that you want, the end goal being the reason for your appointment with the gym. Other than that, it just takes will, responsibility, sacrifice, and every thing else that GREATNESS requires.
Strive On!
