During my university years, I had a friend who wanted to start going to the gym. He was slightly out of shape, wore loose jumpers or T-shirts all the time to try and hide his physique.I could see he was uncomfortable with the way he looked.
I could see he was uncomfortable with the way he looked.
What made him interesting was that he would always say “I need to start working out” or “I should do gym”. He would say this every now and again.
Weeks would go by, nothing changed.
Months would go by, nothing changed.
Years went by, nothing changed!
He had his best intentions to start going to the gym but never did. Something always “came up”. Exams, assignments, holidays.
There was always an excuse for him not starting an exercise program. He genuinely wanted to work out, to get in shape, to look good, but it just never happened.
I can relate to my friend, sometimes we say that we’ll do something, but then never end up actually doing.
For a long time, I’ve always wanted to get up early to work on side projects, but weeks would go by and nothing changed. Luckily I’ve escaped from that bad habit, but it gets me thinking:
Why do we find it hard to do something we say we will? Why do we fail to reach our goals?
Like go to the gym, or get up early, or eat healthy. After doing a bit of research and reading, I found three common reasons as to why we do this:
After doing a bit of research and reading, I found three common reasons as to why we do this:
- We don’t really want it as much as we think we do
- We have an inner, deeper fear
- We don’t take the steps necessary towards the change
We Don’t Really Want It as Much as We Think We Do
For example, if you say to yourself “I want to start going to the gym”. But don’t follow through, you need to ask yourself if you really want it.
Are you thinking of going because your friend is going, or because you heard everyone talking about how great they feel by going to the gym?
Does the motivation come from within? Unless we have the inner motivation to take action, we won’t change ourselves.
The desire to take action is a lot stronger if the motivation comes from within.[bctt tweet=”Unless we have the Inner Motivation to take Action, we won’t Change Ourselves”]
We Have an Inner, Deeper Fear
Although you want something, you want to change something about yourself, you may still encounter fear.
For example, you may think “I want to start going to the gym, but I feel nervous and anxious about people seeing me exercise.”
Or “What will they think of me? I will look funny”.
These are some of the deep fears we may have when it comes to doing gym or starting an exercise program.
Unless we overcome our negative inner thoughts, our fear will stop us from taking action.
We need to pep-talk ourselves into making a change and taking action. Most importantly we need to silence our inner fears. Does it really matter what others will think of you if you go to the gym?
You are going for your own benefit, not to impress others right? Don’t let the fear of what others think control your life.
We Don’t Take the Steps Necessary Towards the Change
Think of this. You have an important business meeting early in the morning.
You make sure you have your clothes ready the night before. You make sure you have packed your bag with lunch and anything you may need.
You make sure you turn your alarm on. You make sure you go to bed early. You take all these necessary steps to make sure you attend this meeting on time.
All of this preparation for a two-hour meeting! Imagine applying this level of preparation towards starting an exercise program or going to the gym. You’d surely not miss a session!
Take the necessary step like buying gym clothes, or getting a new pair of running shoes.Pack your gym bag the night before and take it with you to work.
Taking these actions alone will help build the momentum you need to follow through on your goal.
Your Job:
Right now, I want you to start turning your dreams and goals into a reality. I want you to take action now.
Do not let anything be a reason for why we fail to reach our goals. Do you really want it? Find out what is holding you back.
Take the necessary steps towards change.
Let’s make our dreams a reality!