If youre completely satisfied with your health, dont read this article.
This is not for you.
Give yourself a pat on the back, and save yourself the scrolling.
(This article was inspired by Crackeds 6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person.
Truth #1.
You Alone Are Responsible For Your Health and Fitness.
I cant help that I have bad genes!
I spent half of my life obese, blaming my genetics.
Hell, I had the right to be angry at my genetics.
My family tree bears doughnuts, not fruit.
If you are out of shape, Imnotsaying its your fault.
Perhaps, much like myself, you grew up in a poor neighborhood with no access to healthy food.
In fact, if your entire family ate this way, you had little opportunity to end up differently.
What Im telling you is that youand you aloneare responsible for improving your fitness.
But heres the thing.
The factors that led to your current health and the responsibility of fixing it are mutually exclusive.
It might not be your fault that youre unhealthy, but the onus is on you to fix it.
Before you feel like Im shaming you, know that youre not alone.
An uncomfortable conclusion at that.
But your brain is wrong.
Theres a natural tendency to believe that if theres a party at fault its a binary situation.
Its them or us.
The former makes you a victim, the latter a villainneither of which are comforting to identify with.
The key to overcoming this is self-compassion.
Being overweight or unfit isnt a moral failure.
Change is difficult, and your brain will do everything it can to convince you to stay the same.
Because thats much easier than change.
Youll be told that you should love yourself, flaws and all.
But heres why theyre wrong: being out of shape isnt a character flaw.
Unlike the color of your eyes or skin, your fitness is not an immutable characteristic.
Its something that it’s possible for you to actively change.
Being overweight doesnt mean that youarefat.
It means that youhavefat.
In fact,loving yourself is the first steptowards change.
Without it, you cant show yourself self-compassion and forgive the decisions that led to your current fitness.
Fat is not a flaw.
Truth #2.
In fact, I encourage trainees to do the minimum amount required for results.
This might meantaking the elevator if you hate stairs.
When I say failure, I am not talking about setbacks.
You failed, because in some waymental or emotionalyou were lazy.
You lacked the humility or drive to examine your habits, then adjust and sustain them.
This comes down to being unable to change your thinking.
Some trust me and we make good progress.
Others dont get that far.
They were too stuck in their ways and preconceived notions to successfully affect change.
Being hard working in one area doesnt always translate to others.
More work is betteran adage that might apply well to business, but extremely poorly to health.
It encourages the attachment of purely arbitrary challenges to the idea of being healthy or losing weight.
The thought of becoming fit grows into an insurmountable challengea solid, impenetrable wall of hardship.
This is what I mean by laziness.
Its being too lazy to face daunting task of self-reflection rather than just do more.
Understandthat fitness is a skilland there are many facets to learn.
Youll find much comfort in the revelation that you dont have to be perfect.
Truth #3.
Are you guilty of this?
Its no coincidence, either.
Thus, by showering the world with their nuggets of WisdomTM, they construct a persona for themselves.
Because theyre so wise, any failings they face cant have been for lack of knowledge, butsomething else.
It also introduces an awkward situation when you have a go at explain why they might be wrong.
Do you know what happens when you contradict someones deepest convictions?
Its due to a phenomenon called the Backfire Effect.
This also explains why we havesuch polarizing opinions on everythingfrom vaccinations to Americas involvement in Iraq.
And its okay to change your beliefs.
The truthis that no one really has the answers to health and fitness in the grand scheme of things.
Truth #4.
I take care of myself.
Ive put myself out there.
Why is this so hard?
How about that guy at the end of the bar, I said.
He keeps looking at you.
Not my pop in.
How do you know?
Have you tried a dating site?
I would never date someone I met online!
How about a change of scene?
Your company has offices all over maybe try living in another city?
…
Claire doesnt really want a man.
She wants the right man.
She wants a soul-mate.
Specifically, a soul-mate from her zip code.
I didnt tell her this, because Claire has the capacity for sudden violence.
She complains about being alone, even though her rules have more or less guaranteed shell stay that way.
She has built a wall between herself and her goal.
A wall made of conditions and expectations.
Is it possible that youve built a similar wall?
While this article isnt about fitness, its mandatory reading for all of my trainees.
Because they have the tendency to act the same way.
Many come to me, or some other coach, because what theyve done hasnt worked.
Often, I find out theyve done the same thing over and over again, expecting the different results.
That, as seen in the image above, is the definition ofinsanity.
Can you add it back to my program?
Client with history of binge eating
Im upset with my results this week.
I only lost two pounds!
Client with a history of yoyo dieting
I cant give up breakfast!
Ive never done it before and get lethargic without it!
Client who doesnt get enough sleep
The recommendations were explicitly created to break their respective patterns of failure.
Yet, Im met with a common response: These are my beliefs.
They are no different from Claire in the example above.
People are unnecessarily sensitive about their beliefs.
Of course, this isnt always possible, such as with beliefs that make up your core principles.
For example, while not everyone shares this belief, I am a strong believer in gay marriage.
This belief is part of my personal moral code.
You should not be basing your fitness beliefs on a moral code, because health is not a religion.
There is no one who prays to the vaccine gods.
Introspect, rather than blame, for times that you have failed,and confirm to exhibit self-compassion.
Realize there is much to learn,and approach fitness with an open mind.
Disassociate yourself with your beliefs,and realize this is fitness, not religion were talking about.
I suspect that theres a correlation between making it this far and your success.
If so, follow that voice.
It will help guide you to the best version of yourself.
Title photo byAlexey Laputin(Shutterstock).
