Start Small, Enjoy the Process
Summer is here and you are ready to make some real changes. Your six-pack summer starts today. You just bought a fresh new membership to CrossFit PB, you bought one of the fifty paleo books, started your own blog, and now it is time to define those goals. Well, before we get carried away, let’s pump the breaks a little.
Summer is here and you are ready to make some real changes. Your six-pack summer starts today. You just bought a fresh new membership to CrossFit PB, you bought one of the fifty paleo books, started your own blog, and now it is time to define those goals. Well, before we get carried away, let’s pump the breaks a little. Keep the membership, keep the groceries, keep the sweet new book, but trash the blog. That is right; throw your goals out the window. Unfortunately, the thing you lack most in your arsenal is the information and experiences to actually create goals. How are you going to define the success of your hard work without understanding the cause and effect of the changes you are making? You will never ace a test without learning and studying, much the same way that your six-pack will be unattainable without understanding the cause and effect of your nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle choices. So let’s slow down and begin to understand the process of success and steer the focus away from being successful.
I am not much of a goal setter. In fact, I would be left dumbfounded if you asked me about my life goals. The subject is too broad for me to give a real answer. I cringe when I hear people say, “I want to lose 20 pounds.” Not because weightloss is a poor goal, but because in order to lose twenty pounds, you will encounter so many unintended benefits that focusing on a number seems to lack a connection to the actual goal of self-improvement. After all, what does a number on a scale stand for if you still do not have the quality of life you desire? Focusing on an outcome is tunnel vision to the true lifestyle transitions that come with any conscious effort to alter your current state. In order to lose twenty pounds, you need to learn how to eat correctly, which can turn into learning to cook, learning about fitness, and a lifestyle filled with challenging adventures; all of which add significantly more value and quality to your life than the twenty pounds you do not see on the scale.
I recently became sick and tired of eating out. The thought of another meal coming from a kitchen that was not mine reached a tipping point of disgust. The thought of eating Chipotle chicken was flat out repulsive and it needed to change. I committed the entire month of June to not eating out. My initial thought was that I would save a bunch of money and eat better food. Unfortunately, my food bill for this month is roughly the same as every month. The difference however, is the quality of food I am buying and eating is at an all-time high. I am actually getting the value out of the food I am eating because I am not also paying for the overhead at Chipotle and the awesome “Burrista” (really funny jokes at the 6:30 AM. Barista combined with Burrito…you get it). I make my own chicken, it is much higher quality, but I have completely failed my initial goal of saving money.
The real kicker to this process is the benefits I have experienced that had nothing to do with why I started it in the first place. The food I am buying and cooking has made me feel much better on a daily basis. I also have discovered I do not stress food at all anymore. There was always some guilt even finding the lesser of the evils. I mean it is not McDonalds, but it is still pretty trashy food. Now, I wake up, go to the fridge, and grab whatever I am eating for day. I also pre-load my day for success. By having my food prepared before I leave, I have started every day for the past month with a win, which is a great feeling. There is no stress of where or what I will be eating and it makes life much easier. I also have leaned out, learned how to cook a little, and also gotten a couple friends to take the challenge. As you can see there have been a ton of benefits to this challenge. None of which ended up saving me any money or reaching my original “goal.”
When I sit down with new athletes to discuss what they want to accomplish at CrossFit PB, I like to push the conversation away from goals and towards a conversation on lifestyle choices. I want athletes to solely focus on one small change. If you do not sleep well, focus on turning the TV off before 10PM. If you have a poor diet, bringing your lunch is a great way to start. If you have a high stress job and work long hours, I suggest taking 30 minutes out of your day and going on a quiet walk without a cell phone. Creating change is not about goal setting and focusing on the outcome. It is about creating one, single good habit, setting the wheels in motion, and accomplishing small victories. If your only focus is to cut your TV off at 10 PM, you will probably get really bored at night, go to bed earlier, sleep better, wake up with more energy, and want to work out. From there, each of those actions will have their own positive outcomes. You just have to get the ball rolling. Start small, enjoy the process.
