Last year I wrote about about a client named Cocktail Cara. She started off the year feeling lethargic and unhealthy. She contacted me in January 2016 to inquire about training and to see if I could help her go down a completely different path than she had been on. She was the gal who people called up to go for a drink, which really left little time or motivation for exercise. So when I sat with her at a coffee shop and asked her how she wanted her life to change, this is what she said to me: “I want to be the person who calls a friend to go for a hike, or to exercise. I want to be fit and healthy and I want to feel alive. I want to be an example to my kids”.
Fast forward 1 year and it’s December 2016. The woman I meet with once a week now has muscular arms, a toned body, healthier eating patterns, is an amazing example to her kids, has fit friends AND, she can do 25 push ups from her toes. It’s a big deal.
But do you know how she went from unhealthy and sedentary to doing 25 push ups from her toes?
She didn’t quit.
January will come and so many of you will desperately want to change. You will want to make more time for exercise, you will want to eat healthier and drink less. You will want to increase your energy and feel more alive. You can totally have all of those things and so much more, if you can make it through what Seth Godin calls, “The Dip”.
“Sometimes we quit the wrong things at the wrong time. We quit our workout schedule just before it was about to become a habit and make us healthy.”
~Seth Godin
Just so you know, the dip is coming.
It’s coming sometime in February or March. Your motivation to increase your health will wane and that spot that was reserved for your morning workout will be replaced with a to-do list, which you will no longer be on.
Cara faced the dip.
Many times.
The dip is when it’s hard. It’s when you don’t feel like getting out from under the warm covers on a Saturday morning. It’s when your body aches all over from your workout the day before. It’s when you’d rather go shopping than go for a hike. It’s when you don’t see immediate results. It’s when you feel like an outsider in the gym.
The dip is real. But you CAN make it through and if you do, the benefits that you will receive far outweigh the pain of the dip.
Cara experienced the reality that big benefits accrue for those who don’t quit. What did she get to experience by making it through the dip?
- Increased energy
- Increased body image
- Increased muscle mass
- Increased circulation
- Increased motivation
- Increased longevity
Plus, that sexy arm in the photo.
I took that picture of her by the way. I actually had her pose like that. I wanted her to see what I see. And do you know what else I see? Someone who is not perfect on the journey, because none of us are. Rather, someone who is committed to the journey, even when it’s difficult, even when she feels like giving up.
If you decided to make a change this 2017, make sure you don’t waste your time and money signing up for a membership that you’ll seldom use. Recognize that it will be a very real challenge before it grows into a habit and becomes normal. But if you DO stick with it and you DO make it through the dip, all of the benefits of a healthy life will be yours.
One final word from Seth:
“Here’s a quote from ultramarathoner Dick Collins: Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop and drop out. You don’t want to be out there saying, “Well gee, my leg hurts, I’m a little dehydrated, I’m sleepy, I’m tired, and it’s cold and windy.” And talk yourself into quitting. If you are making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.”
― Seth Godin
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Don’t forget to sign up for our Healthy Eating Revisited event! Nutrition is the most critical component when it comes to changing your body composition. This evening will cover recipes, nutrition tips, the psychology behind why we eat and much more! Mark your calendars and join us on Thursday, January 26th!
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