Skip to main content

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….


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT TO DO WHEN CREATING HEALTHY HABITS BECOMES A CHALLENGE

As you’re working on your health, wellness, or nutrition journey, you’re going to face daily challenges. It happens. Obstacles. Setbacks. Faltering Motivation. Resistance. It’s frustrating to hit a roadblock. But hopefully some of the tips compiled here will help you navigate around these challenges and continue on your way to a healthier you. Focus on Your Behaviors, Not Your Outcomes .  I know I’ve talked about this before, but it’s actually a critical step of creating healthy habits. Outcomes vary. If you’re trying to lose 10 pounds, but the scale hasn’t moved past 5 pounds, it’s easy to get caught up in the number on the scale and fail to give yourself credit for the habits you’re creating like riding your bike 4 times per week, cooking healthier meals at home, and losing inches from around your waist. It’s important to praise and celebrate each habit you do, rather than only giving yourself credit when you hit a certain milestone, like the number on the scale. Take a...
Post a Comment
Read more

NAMING THE PROBLEM

I love working with clients. I love walking them through the process of their health concerns, what their goals are, and how those goals can be achieved. But there is inevitably a glitch in the process where clients get stuck. For me, as well, when I’m working on my own personal goals. They hit a point where they feel like they’ve stalled in their progress. Or they feel like they don’t know where to start. Or how to navigate through an issue. And when these obstacles happen, the secret ingredient that health coaches use to help clients through these barriers is to Name The Problem . In my own personal experience, I have a tendency to get overwhelmed when I’ve made a goal too big. I get sucked into the vastness of the “forest” and I struggle to recognize the individual “trees” around me. For example, let’s say you’ve set a goal to “ Eat Healthier” . That is a very broad goal, and it could cover hundreds (if not thousands) of options. But you’ve made some changes that work for yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

A BUSY MOMS CAUTIONARY TALE: SPORTS MOM EDITION

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, and it got my brain stuck on this topic, so I thought I’d write it out today. I’ve always had kids who were into sports. From the time my sons were 4 years old (and they just graduated from college), until now with my daughter in her senior year of high school. A large majority of my friends also have kids in sports. Recently, our coaches have been talking to the players, as well as their parents, about nutrition. The players are running out of fuel for their bodies long before their events have ended. The result has been kids getting quite sick in one way or another during or immediately after their event. The majority of the issues are coming from a lack of proper nutrition and a lack of hydration. The coaches are taking it all VERY seriously, and have taken a lot of steps to help remedy this situation. The conversation with my friend brought up this point (which is the one that stuck with me), as we were discussing how much ...
Post a Comment
Read more