Steps to creating sustainable changes in your health and fitness journey - Part 2

Mindset shifts

Photo by Katrina Wright on Unsplash

Cultivating the right mindset can be key to helping you find ease in your journey to better ‘health and fitness'. Here are 5 mindset shifts to consider:

1. Do it for "you":

Ask yourself why you want to lose weight or get strong or whatever else health/ fitness goals you may have.

Sometimes we may seek changes in ourselves just to be seen by others in a certain way. To get instant gratification through external validation. This is present in all of us & you are not alone in feeling this way. What's important is that you spotlight this tendency so you can break free from it.

Know that people who see you for who you are, don't care about how fit, healthy, popular or successful you are. They will love you nevertheless. Others who don't see your value, will never do, no matter what you do. This can be a tough lesson (I would be lying if I said this has been an easy lesson for me to learn) but you have got to learn it, in order to live with freedom.

Whatever you do in life, be it for health, fitness, financial security, relationships etc. should be for you, because you know in your heart that it will make you happy and have you feeling good in your body, mind and spirits.

“May we stop seeing ourselves through the eyes of people who never saw us.” - Shane Steel

2. Put in the effort & cultivate patience:

Nothing is achieved without effort. Look back at your own life and tell me if anything was handed down to you in a platter? You had to strive for the things you desired, right?

That's how it is. Actions alone will bring results. And sometimes the results may take a lot of time. Too long for your comfort. Make peace with it.

“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Seek knowledge:

When we fall sick and go to a doctor, we are given a prescription to follow in order to get better. Fitness is no different. Your training program needs to be such, that serves your unique needs. And the program needs to evolve as your needs evolve.

Make sure you have a clear understanding of what you seek to achieve through your fitness program and let the decisions you make be rooted in science. Read books, research papers, reach out to people with more experience and knowledge.

Do this so that no one can fool you into buying a health/ fitness product you don't need.

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” - Leonardo Da Vinci

4. Allow yourself to think big:

With the right support and action, nothing is beyond your reach. Cultivate an "I can" attitude. It's totally ok to fail. But it's not ok to not try or give your fitness goals, no matter how lofty, a shot.

“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up.” - Stephen Hawking

5. Honour your life circumstances and personal attributes:

Sometimes life takes a different course, we slip and stumble. It's ok. Just get back on track when you realize it. Let no one make you feel guilty about it. You are 'ALLOWED' to slow down.

Also set goals that are relevant to you and enhance your life. Not goals that appear glamorous. Remember you are doing this for you and not to prove anything to anybody.

“Sometimes people set themselves up for failure when they are trying for a goal that their life just doesn't support.” - Coach Brad Loomis

In addition know that you do not “have to” do anything that you don't want to. If you don't enjoy running then don't run. It's not the only way to build endurance. As Pete McCall says in his book, Smarter workouts, “there is no one, single right way to exercise. The important thing is that it becomes a consistent habit.”

This week introspect on your current mindset, increase your awareness to those ideas that are pulling you down on your journey & begin exploring how to create mindset shifts that serve you better.