08/10/2024
Fitness Habits: Knowing Yourself Is the Key to Your Success — Identify Your Why and Use It as a Guide
If you’ve tried to exercise consistently and failed, this one’s for you.
First, do you really want to change your fitness habits?
Second, do you understand why you want to change?
Let’s dig a little deeper.
When you are feeling good and thinking about getting healthier, it’s easy to dream up big plans and overestimate your ability to implement when you’re feeling down.
…And when you are feeling down and the pain of remaining as you are is too painful, it’s also easy to resolve to change.
Which of the above motivates you more? Are you running toward a healthier you, or are you running away from a less healthy you?
Once you have that answer, keep going.
Why do you want to exercise consistently?
Is it because you enjoy exercising?
Or because you want to avoid having a heart attack?
Is it because you want to look hot, be strong, or walk without a walker in your 90s?
What about being healthy enough to chase after your kids or grandkids?
Or placing in your age group the next time you run a 5K?
What is YOUR why?
Only you can answer these questions.
Knowing the answers will help you when you want to give up on your big plans.
When you get stuck late at work and want to skip your workout, think of your why. When you would rather binge-watch "The Lincoln Lawyer" and put off that 30-minute walk, think of your why. Sometimes skipping your workout is the right answer, and sometimes it's not.
Use your why as a guide to determine if you are moving closer to the person you want to be - or further away - with the choice you make about your next workout.
And if you haven’t given up, you haven’t failed to exercise consistently; you’re still working to build the habit.
You’ll get there as long as you keep going.