Why start building habits?
Many of my tribe members began their fitness journey with me by telling this similar story, “I have tried X weight loss strategy in the past and it worked, but I keep finding myself losing the same 20 lb over and over again!” Does this sound familiar?
We all know of (or have experienced) the pain yo-yo dieting has on us. The frustration, depression, and self-resentment it creates can (and often time does) spiral us downward on a radical race to a never-ending cycle of defeat. This state, in my opinion, is the worst that the human mind and soul can possibly experience.
There is good news: there is a fix to this curse! The secret is…
Building habits rather than focusing on outcomes
Uhh.. what do you mean Coach C? Well, it’s quite simple. Here is a little illustration to help paint the picture:
Every possible goal that anyone would want to achieve can be broken down into a set of skills that require mastery. Mastery, as you all know, comes through practice. As coaches, we can help our students achieve mastery by assigning drills/technique work. Here is an application for an individual that would like to play professional baseball.
For an individual to play pro-ball, they may require mastery of hitting, throwing accuracy, and baseball tactics. Each of these particular skills has some drills that can be used to assist in achieving mastery at that specific skill.
This SAME concept applies to health and fitness. Ask yourself, “What do healthy and fit people DO?”, “What skills have they mastered?” Here is a brief list to start building habits:
- Meal preparation (cooking)
- Meal Planning
- Exercise Knowledge
- Time Management
- Mindfulness of body
- Breathing (yes, this is a skill with a correct technique)
- Nutrition knowledge
- Development of social structures (how to make good friends)
You get the idea and I’m sure you can add many more. The point is, instead of focusing on a number (like a scale, weight, blood pressure, etc), focus on what skills you don’t know and how you can go about learning them.
Read a book, watch Youtube, or higher a coach to help you figure out what you need to learn to accelerate yourself towards your goal! And don’t forget: the secret sauce to success is to start building habits.
