You have all the time you need to reach our body goals and to get fit.
But you don’t have time to waste.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “It’s harder to lose weight as I get older.”
Or this one: “Everything I eat goes straight to my gut/butt.”
Like many things in life, getting in shape and maintaining the body you want gets tougher as we get older.
But what is there in life worth having that doesn’t require some hard work or self-discipline?
The body you want is available to you, you’re just going to need to be intentional about getting it. That’s what I’m going to help you do.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s get started.
Your current patterns
If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always got.
Is there anything truer than that?
Einstein famously said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” and it’s something I’ve certainly been guilty of.
So why does it happen to everyone?
Our brains and bodies want to keep us safe. They crave the predictable. They crave patterns.
In order to break free of patterns that are keeping us “safe,” we need to know what our patterns are.
What’s your pattern? Spend some time thinking about your daily routines and habits.
Are you in the habit of doing winning things, or losing things?
Will your habits ever result in greatness? Or will they result in ok or average?
Too many of us waste so much time wishing and hoping for the future we want.
It’s time to start doing and living it.
It’s time to have the body you want.
Achievement versus identity
Why do we relapse after making a positive change?
Why do people experience a sense of loss or even depression after accomplishing something great?
It’s because they reach the summit, and realize there’s no higher place to ascend to.
This is the problem with most goal setting. It’s why focusing on your identity over achievement is a key to long-term, sustained success.
I grew up playing tennis competitively and did so at a high level. It was very much my identity in my teenage years.
Once I graduated college and entered the professional world, I no longer thought of myself as an athlete. I thought of myself as a former athlete.
Today, that’s changed.
I consider myself an athlete, even though I no longer enter organized competitions.
I am an athlete.
I consider myself a healthy, active and strong person.
I am a healthy person. I am an active person. I am a strong person.
What are you?
Figuring out what you want your identity to be is essential to you reaching your and sustaining your body goals.
Dropping 20 lbs and gaining it back sucks.
Living the rest of your life as a healthy, active and strong person is awesome.
Fill in the blanks:
Don’t overthink this. Don’t judge your answers. Write down what you want. Make it aspirational. Make it what you’re going to become.
I am ______________.
I am ______________.
I am ______________.
Why do you want it
You wrote down what you want to become; your identity.
Now, let’s talk about why.
This is your reason for wanting to change your identity. Just as before, I want you to be honest with yourself about why you want what you want.
If it’s “I want to be strong enough and energetic enough to play with my kids,” great!
If it’s “I want to be and feel sexy,” awesome!
Whatever your reason for reading this and for thinking about your body goals, write it down now.
You’ll revisit this whenever your body tries to pull you back to familiar patterns.
You’ll revisit this when you try to sabotage your own success.
You’ll revisit this when some external force tries to make you feel less than or to diminish your efforts.
Your body goals
You wrote down your identity.
You wrote down why you want it.
Now, let’s talk about some actions you’re going to take in service of your identity.
We all know how important goals are. We’ve all heard that having goals is essential, and that writing them down dramatically increases our chances of achieving them. While I’ve known this to be true for most of my life, it took me until 35 to actually do it.
So whether you’re like me, or you’ve been in the habit of writing goals for a while, we’re going to dig in and clarify and crystallize our goals.
What are your goals for your body?
Take all the time you need to write them down.
Next, let’s apply the SMART acronym to each goal- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and time based.
For example, if a goal of mine is losing weight, how do we apply the SMART framework?
Is losing weight specific? Yes.
Is it measurable? It can be and needs to be. Let’s say I want to lose 20 pounds.
Is losing 20 pounds attainable for me? Yes, I believe it is.
Is losing 20 pounds relevant to my overall desire to be healthy, yes.
Is it time based? I need to give myself a deadline to lose the 20 pounds; could I do that in 3 months? Yes, I believe I could.
So, instead of simply saying “I Want to lose weight.” I’ve given myself three months to lose 20 pounds. I have a lot more clarity around this goal.
Making it real
How will your new identity and plan survive its collision with reality?
Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
It’s really important to come up with a plan for how you’re going to handle adversity.
Why?
Because you’re going to encounter adversity and the last thing you I want is for you to slip back into your old patterns.
When you prepare for how you’re going to handle challenges in advance, you’ll move past them a lot more easily.
Think about it like this; how do you think Serena Williams or Tom Brady handle it when things don’t go their way? Do they Netflix and chill for five hours, or do they do something constructive?
How do Oprah or Jeff Bezos handle setbacks? Do they eat a bunch of ice cream, or do they pivot into something positive?
I want you to think about your triggers.
When you want to engage in negative behaviors (retail therapy, binge eating, drinking, or zoning out on screen time), dig into it and identify what led to that impulse.
Once you’ve figured out what triggered the behavior, or desire, have a list of things you’ll do instead.
For example, when you’re triggered by something, you’ll be for a 10-minute walk, read five pages of a book, or call your best friend.
The idea is to replace negative coping behaviors with positive activities.
Taking action
To reach the goals you’ve set, what actions will you take?
If you’ll need help, or new skills or learnings, where will you find it?
What’s the first step you’re going to take?
Additional resources
If you’d like to have a no-cost call with one of our Coaches we’d love to help.
We’ve got three free courses as well: Our Goals Course, Values Course, and our Get Out of Debt course.
Connect with one of our Certified Partners to get any question answered.
Stay up to date by getting our monthly updates.
Check out the LifeBlood podcast.
Success is available to you.
You can reach and exceed all your body goals.
Get started!
Success is available to you.
You can reach and exceed all your body goals.
Get started!
Work with a coach to unlock personal and professional potential.
We’re here to help others get better so they can live freely without regret Believing we’ve each got one life, it’s better to live it well and the time to start is now If you’re someone who believes change begins with you, you’re one of us We’re working to inspire action, enable completion, knowing that, as Thoreau so perfectly put it “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” Let us help you invest in yourself and bring it all together.
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Invest in yourself and bring it all together by working with one of our coaches.
