How Much Do You Want It?
A no-nonsense approach to help delve deeper into achieving physiological change.
Before you read on, this isn’t a write of passage to install fear of failure or make you feel guilty for not chasing big goals or getting in superb shape.
This is also not to say there are several people that may need a kick up the arse, or do in fact need a reality check with themselves. Some of you might be in denial about where you’re at currently with your regimes, especially if it’s from a health perspective, but my message to you is a little deeper..
My intention with this article is to help you understand there’s more than meets the eye for those who truly make incredible changes to their bodies.
When we see people achieve mind-boggling transformations over the course of 12 weeks, people loosing ridiculous amounts of weight and bodyfat, looking amazing and feeling great for doing so.
IMO there are three key pointers that must be addressed if we’re seeking change on any level.
- How much do they want it in order to achieve their transformation? What are their key intrinsic motivators? what inspires them?
2. What are they willing to do to get it? How much are they willing to sacrifice? How far are they willing to go? How hard are they willing to work?
3. What is there big “why”? Why are they doing it? who’s it for? deep-down what gives them the fire in their belly?
I would say for a lot of people, they tend to have similar goals or desires, ie “I want to lose 5kg” or “drop a dress size”, but the difference between those that go onto success with their training and diet compared to those who don’t, will be down to their level of commitment and adherence to the plan.
Crucially these will count for nothing, if it’s not implemented with consistency day-in-day-out method.
Below demonstrates two varying levels of commitment and dedication and this will often dictate the level of results acquired to achieve this.
- Want to get a six-pack and get absolutely ripped? To achieve this the process you will most likely have to do the following : -
- Avoid social events which could hinder your progress
- Train hard multiple times a week and push it to an uncomfortable level
- Drop your calories pretty low and work through fatigue
- Battle cravings and reduced energy demands to the best of your ability
- Do this for a number of weeks, possibly months (key).
Sounds pretty tough right? This is not for the faint hearted.
2. Want to get in better shape and drop a few lbs? it’s likely you can do this and :-
- Go out for a couple of drinks at the weekend
- Train regularly and keep active
- Not be super strict with the diet, but apply a consistent approach
- You feel good
- Realise you may never get ripped or it will take a LONG time
Both outcomes both have their pros and cons, peaks and lows when it comes to results and shouldn’t be seen as good or bad, but what we should understand that if you’re wanting to transform how you look and go somewhere you’ve never been, it’s likely your level of dedication will have to match those high expectations. Therefore things like takeaways, cocktails, social occasions and late nights will have to take a back seat.
If you’re wanting to maintain a social life, have overall better management of a healthier lifestyle, feel better about yourself and look a little better, this can be done too. But it’s rare you’ll achieve sought-after results, BUT from a long-term perspective of adherence and sustainability, this could be seen as a better strategy.
Value Vs Priority
Leading on from delving into levels of commitment, adherence and consistency comes the simple task of comparing how much you Value something versus how much you Prioritise it.
This is fairly straight-forward, but I believe that if you value something highly in your life, it has to be of upmost importance. If it’s something that hold’s little to no value, it’s probable it’s of no priority currently.
I know there are plenty of people that would rather binge-watch a season of The Crown on Netflix, then get outside and do some form of activity and if you’re happy with that, by all means go for it. But in this instance, Netflix priortises Exercise.
If you’re wanting to create physiological change, perhaps getting up an hourly earlier to exercise or reducing your exposure to social media and TV could cause an immediate shift in what you previously prioritised.
Value + Priority = Change
One of my priorities …
For myself, I train four/five times a week and I make time for this (no matter what) because it makes me feel empowered, makes me feel good, gives me energy and serves as a form of escapism and meditation, especially with Covid-19 taking it’s toll on the World this year and having an impact on the things I once took for granted previously.
What I don’t see as a priority…
Staying up late, not getting adequate amounts of sleep in and drinking enough alcohol that therefor means I’m hungover the next day. This is not to say I won’t do this, but it’s not often.
Why is this the case?
Because it has an impact on my ability to work with my amazing clients, lowers my energy, makes me irritable and doesn’t serve me.
Last Point : “The Gun To The Head” Mentality
My final point should help bring home the reality of asking how much you want something.
Hypothetically if someone held a gun to your head and said..
“Right, I’m going to kill you unless you drop 5kg in the next week!”
I guarantee you would do everything in your power to achieve this and probably starve yourself, because quite frankly you don’t want to die!
This therefore creates the upmost of importance to us and as a result, the outcome will happen.
Now this is obviously an extreme example of how we make adjustments to a particular task, but what if we applied a little more of this attitude to the things we prioritise and I bet the results would speak for themselves.
