Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?

We all have a little voice inside our head (maybe you’ve named yours Jiminy Cricket – just kidding :-)…we hear this voice all day long.

Sometimes it tells us positive things and then other times not so positive. This little voice can become your own worst enemy!

Like when we find a task getting hard, this little voice sometimes tells us to “give up it’s too hard and can’t be done”.

I hear the phrase “I can’t do it!” quite often in my line of work.

My response: “You CAN do it.  You can do anything you put your mind to. You may not be able to do it yet but you will!”

It might not be easy at first but if you keep working at it, you are going to see that your body can do some miraculous things.

Here are some quick tips to beating your own worst enemy:

1. Dream

What do you want to accomplish?  What are your final fitness goals?  Would you like to be a fitness model or maybe you would just like to walk up the stairs and not feel winded? Everyone’s goals will be different so make sure it’s a goal you are choosing for yourself.  Envision what your life would be like once you have achieved this goal.  Is it exciting? Does your heart skip a beat just thinking about it? If your heart doesn’t go pitter-patter keep digging for the goal that does.

2. Baby Steps

Now, that you have imagined what you want…you might start to feel a bit petrified.  It can be overwhelming if you have a huge goal.  Chunk it down.  That big goal gets broken into easy manageable smaller goals.  It could be something as small as “I will drink an extra two ounces of water per day”.  Yes, something that small can get the ball rolling.

3.  Get Moving

Go for a walk for 10 minutes each day.  Then add more time as you like or break it into three 10 minute walks throughout the day. Take the stairs at work.  Sit less in your chair.  While watching tv do some marches in place during the commercials.  Just move your body more than it usually does.

4. Plan

Always have a plan.  Write down the days and times you will go for your walk or which meals you will incorporate more veggies.  Stick to it.  Don’t dismiss this.  You will never change unless you change your current habits.

5.  Be Prepared For Speed Bumps

There are times when “things will come up” like a death in the family or you overate at the wedding this past weekend or some other “speed bump”.  Just get back on track as soon as you can.  The faster the better.

I love hearing how clients who started off feeling like they can barely get through a training session and then couple weeks later  they are stronger, more energized and are doing things they couldn’t have imagined doing before working with me.