HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT IT?

This is a question I’ve found myself asking a lot these days. I’ve asked myself, I’ve asked it of my clients, I’ve asked it from family members, and also of friends.

I’ve been on my own personal health and wellness journey for the past year and a half. And it frustrates me to say that I am not NEARLY where I want to be….YET.

But on the flip side of that, I’ve also made more progress than I usually acknowledge. I’ve lost 25 pounds. I’ve added resistance training and I can lift 55 more pounds than when I started. I’ve added a daily multi-vitamin and I’m working on adding more fruits and veggies. I’m SLOWLY cutting out fast food and I’m working on adding more lean protein to each meal.

These are changes I’m making with only HALF of the effort (or less) than I COULD be doing.

Life is hard.

Life is complicated.

And life gets VERY busy.

But I also have to remember that sometimes giving half-effort, or even less, is still MORE than what’s been done in the past.

However, for others, giving half-effort may not be enough. My daughter is a good example. She’s a very competitive person. She’s a good athlete and she works very hard to improve her skills. But when I see her only giving half-effort, I get frustrated and I call her out on it.

She’s not at the “half-effort” level. To improve and accomplish her goals, she’s got to be at the 75% and above level in her efforts. That means she has to take her nutrition seriously – a work in progress for SURE. She has to take her practice time seriously – with her team as well as on her own. She has to take her conditioning seriously – cardio and strength training in addition to her team practices.

And that’s when I ask her – how much do you want it?

Because no amount of me wanting it/wishing it for her is going to make it happen. I can HELP her, but I can’t do it for her. I can provide the macronutrients she needs at mealtimes. I can hand her a vitamin in the morning to help fill in the nutritional gaps she might be missing. I can remind her about practicing on her own or conditioning, but I’m not dragging her out the door to go work on her skills and drills.

Those are things she has to 1.) Want for herself, and 2.) DO herself.

I can provide all the support in the world, but ultimately, it’s her choice.

And that is what I am learning to embrace for myself, as well. There are SOOOO many factors to consider on my health and wellness journey. And I have to decide for myself which ones are right for me; what makes the most sense to incorporate into MY routine at this point in my life; and most importantly, HOW MUCH DO I WANT IT?

I not only have to WANT to change, but I have to be willing to make those changes, and make changes that I can CONSISTENTLY live with. It’s not going to do me a lot of good to vow to give up pizza entirely, only to sit there and bitterly eat a salad while my family enjoys pizza on movie night. Or worse, gorge myself on pizza and deal with the guilt and frustration of setting myself back.

A CHANGE I could live with would be drinking a large glass of water before dinner, eating a small or medium salad and then having one or two slices of pizza.

That’s a half-effort for me: meeting myself halfway by drinking the water and having the salad first, then enjoying a much smaller portion of pizza with my family.

I’m working toward the 75% level. I may not get there, but I’m not going to stop trying.

Because the question still ultimately comes down to: how much do you want it?

Until next time….