I was talking to one of my clients today about where she is currently in her journey, where she wants to go and how we can tweak her programming to ensure that she gets there. She told me that she was struggling a little bit with finding the motivation to show up and do her workouts every day. But, even though the motivation was lagging, she was still pressing play every single day and getting it done. I told her that THAT was the difference, THAT was why I knew she was going to succeed; she was disciplined (read here for more on motivation vs. discipline). So then we started talking about how we could make it all less of a slog, because no matter how disciplined you are, if you hate what you are doing you will quit at some point. I asked her what I thought was a simple question - why are you doing this?
She looked at me like I was crazy because we had literally spent an hour during her consultation talking about her goals and what she wanted to achieve because of the impact her fitness levels and excess weight were having on her life. She started to reiterate what I already knew so I stopped her; "No, Sophia. Why are you doing this?"
Well, that was met with utter silence. Because she immediately understood what I was getting at.
Listen, nobody goes into doing anything that requires effort, discomfort and massive change for the surface reasons.
Losing weight to look better and feel better. Nope; it's because you were ridiculed for being bigger and never want to be in a position where others make fun of you again.
Getting fitter to compete in a race/competition. Wrong again; you aspire to be seen as a true athlete to fill the need to be special.
Going for a big promotion at work because it is the next step for your career. No! It's because your parents and teachers told you that you would never amount to anything and you are going to prove to the world that you can.
To achieve those big things takes A LOT. There are ups and downs, twists and turns, all manner of barrier and hurdle, and in order to stay the course despite all of that, you have to know your Why.
Sophia took the time to look into her heart, really dig into her being, and she came up with her Why. And, guess what? It had nothing to do with looking great in a bikini and being able to cross the finish line with a 'respectable' time. It had everything to do with how she shows up in the world and who she truly is.
So, guys, I encourage you to ask yourselves the tough questions, Get to the root of why you want to lose weight / get fit / be promoted / move across the world / have a baby. There will always be distractions and moments of despair when you are doing anything worthwhile. Being firmly rooted in your Why will keep you disciplined enough to go all the way in creating the life of your dreams.
Sabs xxx
P.S. Want to know my Why? This guy ;o)
