This week makes it a year since I left Equinox and went out on my own. I can honestly say I haven't looked back. I don't say that because I've been super successful. I haven't been...super successful, that is. I've done well enough. Our bills are paid, food is on the table and we're able to put a little into savings each month. Do I think I can do better? Absolutely. And I will...do better that is. Let's take a look at some of the things I've learned and how they might relate to making changes and/or reaching goals.
- The Nike Rule: just do it- it's been a year since I've been in business. What most people don't know is that I registered my LLC in August 2015. More than a full year before I officially started working for myself. Why? I've probably asked myself that question everyday for the last year. All I got from waiting a year is a loss of income and a year's worth of opportunities to learn how to run a business.
I've had people tell me they want to get into better shape before working with a trainer. This doesn't make any sense. The trainer's job is literally to help you get into better shape. Stop wasting time. As the saying goes: the best time to improve yourself was yesterday, the next best time is right now.
- Perfect doesn't exist- I'm a paralysis by analysis type of person. I will go out of my way to find the perfect solution when the "good enough" is right in front of me. For instance, I spent (literally) hours on Saturday looking for an app that would allow be to make "pretty" forms for clients to fill out. After all that time, I ended up going with Google forms, the same Google forms I've been using for years, and it took me about 10 minutes to complete.
Searching for perfection is just another form of procrastination. It doesn't matter if you're looking for the perfect workout or diet or anything else. Pick something and do it (see #1).
- Wrong leads to right- part of the reason people don't start or get stuck looking for the perfect solution is because they don't want to do anything "wrong". I'm willing to say over the last year I've done 10x more things wrong than I've done right. Thank goodness for that. Without being so wrong, I would never learn what I shouldn't be doing.
In the words of George W. Bush, "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice....can't be fooled again." Make mistakes, lots of them. Learn from them. Don't make the same mistakes over and over again.
- Journey>outcome- this is cliché at this point. That doesn't make it any less true though. Once you reach a outcome (favorable or not) you start chasing the next one. Celebrating (or sulking over) a outcome for too long just makes the next one that much harder to reach. So you had better learn how to enjoy what it takes to get to each outcome.
You've reached your goal weight? Now what? You should've had that question answered before you got to your goal weight. If you want to stay at your goal weight, now you're on a different journey. Don't waste time trying to figure out the path.
- Finish- I just talked about journeys over outcomes and all that good stuff. That doesn't mean outcomes aren't important however. Outcomes tell us what we're doing right and what we're not doing right yet. Outcomes inform the journey you're on and the one you're going to be on. So in order to get outcomes, you have to finish what you start. It's that simple. (Remember simple≠easy.)
Ever quit a workout or diet plan before it was supposed to be over? If you're like lots of people then you probably said the workout/diet didn't work. How would you know? You didn't see it through until the end. If it calls for six weeks, then give it six weeks. That's the only way you can give/get an honest assessment of the plan.
These are just some of the things I've observed over the last year. As I thought about this over the weekend, I couldn't help but be amazed at how similar my struggles have been to my clients. The main thing I tell clients, and now myself, is that any action is better than no action and progress is better than perfection.
With that here's to another year. If you have any questions about how you can start taking progressive actions, let me know at dwayne@startinglinefit.com.
