As you all know I am a personal trainer in Chicago with a good amount of clients. In the past few weeks I have been asking my client’s one specific question?
Why is it you tell yourself that after the New Year you will get in shape?
Now before I answer this I want to preface this with a statement I like call "who are you kidding” I am sure we are all guilty of this, I know for sure I am, but we all do this. In the past few years, maybe 5 or 6 years I have always told myself that I am going to run more next year and only one of those years did I run my 2 and only marathons. That I was going to try and be nicer to the people that have helped me get to where I am today and that would only last for 2 or 3 weeks at most. We have all been in this situation in the past few years if not few decades. I want to try and find out why this is. I want to know what makes the human mind act like it does. Now keep in mind I am no psychotherapist or even anything close to a doctor, but I am someone who is very in touch with how people feel and why they react the way they do. With that said I would like to give you some insight as to what I discovered by asking this questions to some of my clients.
The reason I asked this question is to figure out why people say they are going to do something and then not do it that is what this boils down to. The majority of people say that they are going to do it after the New Year because you have to start somewhere. I like that fact that you have to start somewhere but I do not like that that certain "after the new year" point is as a matter of fact after the New Year. I have clients that are saying that after the new year I am going to start eating better, I am going to lose that weight, I will start to exercise on a normal basis, I will get to the gym more, I will be more diligent with the food that I eat, I will, I will, I will, etc... I could go on for days with all of the responses of how they will better their lives after the New Year. I want to know, what about after the New Year is so special. WHY WAIT!!
Why not change your life where you need changing. Now I know I am a trainer and I am talking specifically about health and fitness, but this can relate to anything. I am talking about changing your life the second you think to yourself, "after the new year I will..." right after that thought tell yourself what is so special about after the New Year. Are you trying to tell me that you need to eat those cookies that you have every year? Now when I say you need to eat them I am talking about need and want, as opposed to should and have. If it is bad for you body and you know that you will have to work it off harder then you did putting it on then try to moderate yourself with how much you indulge. Try to tell yourself that you do not need to have 3 pieces of cake or pie. Maybe one small glass of eggnog is okay but 3 glasses is excessive. I want you to tell yourself this when you find yourself saying "after the new year I will..." I will change right now. I will go a get a gym membership. I will buy those weights now. I will be nicer to my coworker. I know and you know that after the New Year nothing changes except it is a new calendar year and that is it. So why not act like it is any other day and get yourself out of bed a little earlier and go for jog. Ask for a clycl-ops and bike inside; make time to go to the gym during your lunch hour, and no matter what convince yourself that you need to do it for YOU and nobody else. You need to prove to yourself that you can do it and you can do it right now.
Comment on this post and tell me what you will do after reading this. It can be small or big just do it for you today.
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