You will (probably) never look like me
I am not saying it is not possible, but I am also not saying anything that is false. You may, in fact, find a certain motivation and drive that pushes you for the rest of your life after reading this post, on an endless journey to prove me wrong.
Good. But as confident as a writer as I may be, I do not believe I can instill the lifestyle needed to pull off such a mountainous quest. Listen, I want you to be as healthy and as happy as you wish yourself to be as well, but I have talked to enough people (and seen, for that matter) to know that the collective, but individual, crisis in health and fitness is not because there is some mystery formula, some method passed down through the ages, or some voo-doo ritual that one must perform to achieve the health they desire.
So, what is it then that is preventing you from achieving your goals? Why is it that I was able to change my life around, achieve a level of fitness I previously thought was unattainable, and continue to make growth in my fitness journey?
Simply put, it is because I have developed a lifestyle that allows me to make small, but consistent, contributions to health. And that is the key, consistency, but consistency in the right direction. There are multiple paths to whatever your goal may be, however, what is common between them is that you show up and put in the work, day in and day out. No exceptions.
I will be the first to admit that what I am saying is quite difficult, and that is also why I am saying that you most probably will not achieve a level of fitness that I have, one that I shows off defined abdominals, veiny arms, or all four parts of your quadriceps (they are called quads for a reason). It has taken me years to reach the point in my fitness journey that has allowed me to proudly take my shirt off at the beach.
What is more exciting, however, is that my fitness journey has led me down a path I no longer struggle with my health. I used to think I was cursed by genetics, but I have come to realize I was cursed with being naive, which can be fixed with education. And I did. After 8 years, all of which included times of injury; multiple concussions, 6 major to the point of unconsciousness, back injuries from incorrect form, overtraining, mental overload, and absolutely debilitating anxiety. How depilating? Well, I still remember how the end of a shotgun tastes, shaking as I thought about all the reasons to pull the trigger. I don’t want your damn sympathy either, I want you to understand that we all feel like shit in life. It is a ride, you better buckle up and enjoy it, otherwise you will fall out.
What I have learned from my experience is that you can, day by day, achieve small goals. If you have not heard of Jordan Peterson, well, I suggest you do a google search or click the hyperlink, because the man will change your life, at least, he has mine. Set low goals. I cannot express this enough. In life, we must win, or rather we strive to win. So, why not win every day?
You can, but you must aim low. You cannot pick up a magazine of Men’s Health, turn on a Rocky montage, throw on an old navy plain hoody, and run the streets until your goal presents itself. How long are you going to keep that up? I can imagine right around the time you are smashing your iPhone, annoyed at the fact Rocky even exists from listening to it on repeat. However, you can make your bed for instance, credit to Jordan Peterson. That right there is a small, achievable win that you can begin upon waking up tomorrow. Hell, you can do it right now and I bet it will feel great!
Or, maybe you can go for a walk. How many steps do you get in a day? Do you even track? That could be your goal, track your average steps in a day for a week, and then beat it each day by 100 steps. Or lower, maybe even 50 steps. 25? AIM LOW. 25 steps each day above your average, compounding, is much greater in the grand scheme of life than all the hours potentially spent at the gym. Before long, your average may be at 15,000+ steps a day, and you don’t even have to try because it is just part about being you!
What else can you do? You can reach out and contact me for help. I understand how har it is to make change, but I also understand that it is about the habits you hold, how to switch the bad out for the good, and how you live your life when no one is looking. I am not going to help you make the bed, but I will help you take the next step, and the step after that one, and the step after that. We can speak about a path that would be best for you, because in the end, fitness is easy. As Sal says from MindPump Media, it is all about math and science. The motivation part is the difficult part to educate, because the truth is that we all, even I, feel unmotivated from time to time. Actually, it is a majority of the time, which is an issue I am working on myself. Luckily, I have habits instilled in my life that allow me to make deposits to bank of life each day, even when I am unable to cash the large checks, metaphorically speaking.
You can do the same, but it is all about starting somewhere, and that somewhere being so low, a monkey could do it. Do kid yourself thinking you are above it, because as of now, I am positive there is a monkey making its bed and tidying up its living area. In that regard, that monkey is achieving more than you currently. CHANGE IT.