Have you ever wanted a pair of shoes, or a new car?
I mean, REALLY wanted it, like REAL-BAD, have-it-or-die?
Did you walk into the shoe store or the dealership, point at the object of that obsession and simply walk out the door with it without paying for it?
Nope..never happens.
Why?
Because what we want is always on the other side of a cost.
It’s the same with health and fitness goals. There is going to be a cost, but most people think that the person that got them INTO their unhealthy situation is going to be the person to get them out (eh-hem…I mean YOU).
While determination and grit go a long way to reaching goals, most people cannot progress without paying some sort of price, or cost.
The TYPE of cost can vary.
It could be money, time, friendships, addictions, vices, foods, influences, pride, attention, position, comfort, familiarity and more.
The problem is that to many people, the thought of giving something up or “paying” for getting healthier, fitter isn’t something they believe is valuable enough.
So is this a problem of sacrifice or is it related to personal worth?
Both…probably.
Having been in the health and fitness realm for over 12 years, I have worked with people of a HUGE variety of ages, temperaments, backgrounds, and reasons for training with me.
The people who have had the most success are the ones that have committed to “giving something up in order to have something better.”
What about you?
- What are you willing to sacrifice in order to feel amazing in the one body gave you to live in?
- What changes MUST you make to live without regret and to live with optimal performance potential?
- Why have you been holding back “spending” time, money, comfort, familiar things?
- Are your goals and dreams not worth as much as anyone else’s in your life?
Personally, I used to believe that to spend money on health or fitness or education would be to take away from others in my family.
But as I became wiser with time, I realized that everything I did to make MYSELF better, affected my family in powerful, positive ways.
“Mommy is a better mommy when she gets to workout” I used to tell my kids when they were small and didn’t want to go the the gym’s kids room yet again.
The cost for me? Gym membership, babysitting fee, gas money, the energy exerted to get them ready, to stay patient and steadfast when they balked.
I gave up some things to get more of the things that I really wanted and simply would not live without..physical fitness, preserving the feeling sexiness to keep things in my marriage spicy and intact, mental and emotional health from endorphin release, better hormonal balance (better for EVERYONE around me)!
Take the time to reflect on your own health or life goals. What is standing in the way of having them?
Think about this….
Spending money will probably save you time. Spending time will probably save you money.
Since time and money are the 2 most important resources to have to use for life’s purposes, you’ve got to identify which is most important to save and which you are willing to spend.
Every single thing you want is going to come at a cost.
There is no way around it, so embracing it, understanding what you are personally willing to count as cost in order to attain “better” is important work for all us to do. It’s especially important if you’ve felt as if you’ve been in a holding pattern or even slipping back for too long and you’re sick of it.
The day of disgust is usually the day of decision.
Decide what cost is worth spending to have your dream, your better, your very best life and do the brave work making peace with that cost by giving up what you’ve been clinging to in order to have what you’ve desperately and deeply desired.
