If you are like any regular human being, you could come up with a million reasons why now is not the right time to start to eat better, get fitter, lose weight or generally just achieve a specific goal. You’re too tired. You don’t have time. You don’t know how or where to start. You might fail. You’ve tried before. It’s hard work. You’re a perfectionist…Excuses, Excuses, Excuses. It’s time for a reality check.
Everyone procrastinates. Even the most successful people fight the mental battle daily. The difference is they put clever, actionable strategies in place to get started and maintain momentum.
If you’re waiting for the perfect time to start living a healthy life, or achieving any goal, you’ll soon realise that there is no perfect time. Those excuses are holding you back and sabotaging you from moving towards what you know you want to be and what you want to achieve.
So, if you’re ready to resign as the leader of Procrastination and Excuses Nation and take some action you can follow these 4 easy steps to equip you against your resistance. You will find your flood of excuses will dry up and the seeds of personal growth will begin to sprout.
1. Be a rebel, do what you WANT not what you think you SHOULD
Feeling like you ‘should’ exercise, eat well, lose weight, live a certain way…instead of ‘wanting’ to is an external pressure that provides little motivation. Stop questioning yourself and listening to everyone else. Make yourself a priority, listen to what you really want and act on that little voice that has been suppressed by the noises of other people’s opinions and the world around you.
Find more insight about ‘knowing your WHY’ and learn that a clear sense of purpose allows you to focus your intentions.
2. Be accountable and seek support
Let’s face it, the whole reason you haven’t yet found the perfect moment to start is that you have only been accountable to yourself. A study published in the International Journal of Medical Informatics investigating the nature and benefit of social support for successful weight loss found that the themes of encouragement and motivation, shared experiences and accountability were particularly favourable to people starting weight loss and maintaining it. So, the excuse buster here is to ‘say it out loud’. Announce your commitment on social media and tell your colleagues and friends of your intentions to get fit and healthy and you will find you feel the friendly force of accountability and be buoyed by support to take that initial foray towards your goals.
3. Recover from “analysis paralysis” , stop over-complicating the start
‘You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step’ – Martin Luther King Jnr.
It is true that often the hardest part of any journey is overcoming inertia and taking the first step. Once you’re going, momentum is on your side and things become easier as you develop routines and habits. Don’t hold yourself back by over-analysing or over-complicating things. Take action and break down what you truly want to achieve into smaller steps that work towards the bigger goal. Using the SMART-R (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Regularly Assessed, Timed and Reward) goal system can be effectively applied to big goals, or more menial everyday tasks. It will enable you to recognise that you are literally taking the first step, not bounding up the whole staircase at once.
4. Practice makes perfect, and disables ideals of perfectionism
Perfectionism is a strong armour (read: excuse) against potential embarrassment, criticism or failure. It can be a good quality, but it can also hold you back and be just another justification for avoiding action. But guess what? There is no perfect in fitness, health and wellness. Disguise your thoughts of eating and exercising perfectly as the ‘practising’ for a healthy lifestyle and remember you are human, so “imperfect action is better than perfect inaction” – Harry Truman
At Active8me we want to see you succeed, to take the first step and really feel the joy of overcoming self-doubt and mental barriers. We want you to see transformation and to see your best intentions and efforts result in lasting change and the best version of yourself that you can be. Active8me is a stylish, convenient and simple to use app that acts like a personal trainer, dietician and life coach in your pocket. It has a comprehensive collection of workout programs (videos and plans), nutritious meal plans and recipes, mindset lessons, motivation tips, inspiration and more. All curated by an incredible team of experts including Olympians, personal trainers, dieticians and doctors. More importantly, it is customised for YOU. Let us give you the tools to create the healthy, active lifestyle you want and enable you to look good, feel great and be healthy.
The perfect time is NOW!
