My Struggle…

Being the owner of a gym is an interesting phenomenon.
The ability to play a part in the positive changing of someone’s life is pretty spectacular.
Health and longevity, and not just surviving but thriving, are incredibly important to me. They form part of the foundation for how I live my life.
There is a funny saying amongst fellow gym owners: “The quickest way to tank your fitness is to open and run a successful gym.”
Herein lies the struggle:
I believe it is vitally important to ‘walk the walk’ that we talk about day in day out – eat well, move often, get good sleep, etc.
But its equally important that this is an enjoyable experience that fits comfortably in our normal daily lives.
(This is why it is so important to our staff that you have FUN when you come to CFG.)
If I’m being completely transparent, I’d wager a guess that my struggle is the same one that so many of you have: making these healthy habits into long lasting lifestyle changes. Goals are great. I love working towards the ‘next thing.’ I think goals are hugely important. But what I’ve found along the way is that who you become in the process of striving for that goal is actually “the thing” that matters.
Here’s a great example: I have a goal to lose 20 pounds. The things I need to do to achieve this goal are simple: come to CFG and exercise 3-4 days per week, eat real whole foods (at an amount that is less than I’m taking in now), and get 7-8 hours of sleep per day.
Simple. I didn’t say easy, that’s a different story. And a different post…
But here’s the thing, when (yes, WHEN) I achieve that goal within 3 months, what happens next? Do I maintain those action steps that I did for a short while over the long term? Do I look forward to the day when I can smash a dozen donuts again and not be as consistent at the gym?
That depends on how I view this process.
If I look at these next few months as simply a means to an end, its a guarantee that I’ll regress.
But if I take the hard road and focus less on the end and more on the means, I guarantee I’ll maintain these new behaviors.
I’ve got life just like all of you. It’ll be a challenge for me just like it would be for you.
I plan to focus on the process, the daily disciplines that make for lasting change.
Fit, healthy, thriving people are that way because they consistently do the things that fit, healthy and thriving people do: they eat well, move often, and get plenty of good sleep.
After all, if you are persistent you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.
Question for today: in your journey to your next goal, who do you need to become in order to maintain the success you achieved?