Who got caught in the Beast from the East storm last week?

I don’t know about you but I think snow is a PAIN IN THE ASS! Unless you’re a school kid, who gets the day off, and can go sledging and chuck snow balls at random terraced houses!

The other day I was catching up with clients, asking them questions about their nutrition and training, etc…

Two of the LEP members I coach are big into running, and they go on average 4x per week. Despite the hostile weather conditions and sub zero temperatures both members still ran, even in the snow! They could have easily blamed the weather and not gone running at all!

I thought it would be good to turn this story into a blog post…

Taking Ownership…

Something I try and get all LEP members to do is to take responsibility for their actions. It’s not about being perfect and 100% on your diet and exercise all of the time! Instead it’s about being honest with yourself and not blaming others or circumstances when things don’t go to plan.

It’s human nature to take credit for the things we’ve done well, for example…

When we get a job promotion – “I did it! All that hard work paid off!”

We lose 14kg of weight – “all those early morning runs were worth it”

However when things don’t go to plan, it’s easy to shift blame…

We didn’t get the job promotion – “my boss is an Asshole (pardon the French!) it’s his fault!”

We failed to hit our weight goal – “works been really busy lately and I’ve just not had time for the gym!”

Quit Kidding Yourself…

Most of the stories we tell ourselves are total BS! I can do X but can’t do Y, I’m too tired, I can’t afford it, etc, etc!

You can blame your circumstances on the weather, or a friend for inviting your around for dinner, or your mate who just bought you a pint! The truth is unless somebody has put a gun to your head (extreme scenario I know!) it’s YOU that has the FINAL DECISION.

You’ve got to take ownership and regain your PERSONAL POWER.

It’s Ok to Mess Up But Be Honest…

Just because you missed an exercise session or ate a HUMONGOUS pizza doesn’t make you a bad person. But when you try and kid yourself or put the blame onto a person or external circumstances then you are doing yourself a disservice and will continue to make the same mistakes.

The blame/excuse mindset only leads to one thing…

ZERO RESULTS!

One of the best things you can do is be totally honest with yourself. At least that way you are being straight with yourself and can look for new ways to improve in the future.

Take A Moment To Pause…

Try and get good at becoming AWARE on a daily basis. Take time to pause before acting on impulse and you will be far more likely to make better decisions – the ones more conducive towards your goals. Basically… take yourself off autopilot and take charge.

All it takes is 10s of slow, mindful breathing and awareness, this can be enough time to regain composure and make a healthier decision.

For example next time you feel like binging on cr*p because you’ve had a bad day at work, take a moment to pause, take a few, slow, deep breaths and let yourself acknowledge how you are feeling. Once you’ve given yourself space to pause, then you can think of alternate ways to relieve the stress…

Such as writing your thoughts/feelings down in a diary, or calling you mum or a friend, or even blasting out an intense weights session at the gym!

Regain your personal power by taking yourself off autopilot and owning your actions.  There’s only one person that can stop you from achieving your full potential…

YOU.

Nick 🙂