The Process Is The Prize
Embarking on a health and fitness journey? or currently on one not knowing where to take it next? These pointers should help you achieve monumental success..
A lot of the time when people set off on a fitness conquest, they have the best intentions to :
Get in great shape
Hit a PB on a 5k
or
Even just simply wanting to look good naked (nothing wrong with that I may add!).
I’m not saying the aforementioned pointers don’t happen on the regular and get people where they need to be with relative ease or joy, but what I do think get’s often lost along the way is people become very much fixated on the outcome of their particular health and fitness journey and part-take in a plan which ultimately leads to feelings of inadequacy or even failure.
I don’t necessarily think it’s a case that people don’t have the willpower, persistence or grit to succeed in a certain plan. They may have just gone about it in the wrong way.
What could be seen as a much better and more sustainable approach would be to focus their attention on the process and apply a system which creates sustainable mechanisms (article here)
Before delving into the Process it’s important to understand the other parts to the equation.
What I think is imperative for anyone :
starting off on a health kick
or
getting back into it after some lengthy time off
or
even wanting to realign their focus
Is adopting the PIE Principle. I believe this could be a game changer when it comes to creating a solid system of habits to change their behaviours for the good to help with better confidence, self-esteem and results.
PIE stands for Purpose, Intention and Enjoyment.
Purpose
Purpose, perhaps the most important part of the trio is understanding your ultimate sense of resolve or your big why. What’s your bigger purpose? Is it to be able to feel more confident in your own skin? Is it to be able to play with your kids? Is it to not get out of breath when you walk up the stairs? Creating the right purpose and how we apply it can be a powerful tool at our disposal. The bigger the purpose, the bigger the success.
Intention
This is about how we implement a system with a clear set of intentions. If you’ve got your intentions set high, you better believe how you go about your day will be vastly different to those who have no intention. How we intend to go about our days every morning defines who we are. If you’re wanting to change that, you’ll have to make sure you’re attacking each day with deliberate purpose and intention.
Enjoyment
The previous points will count for nothing if you’re not able to do something you enjoy.
With this in mind, I believe a lot of people go about their process in the incorrect manner and fail to recognise what they’re doing at that moment in time isn’t something they actually like doing.
Guess what happens to most of us when you do something you don’t enjoy?
- You give up eventually
- You hate it
- You become resentful towards it
- All of the above
Taken from one of my favourite books “Atomic Habits” by author James Clear. He talks about Identity Based Habits, quite simply this is broken down into three layers. Outcome, Process and Identity.
Outcome how you go about changing your results
Process determines how you go about changing your habits/routines
Identity determines how you create a change in your belief system or view.
The three layers of behaviour change. Outcome, Process and Identity.
For example…
If you’re wanting to drop bodyfat (outcome), it’s likely you’ll have to put a plan (process) together to reduce your caloric intake, meal-prep your food, get your workouts in, hit your daily steps and reduce your exposure to social activities which may disrupt this. Throughout all of this instead of thinking I must be healthy and fit, or I need to be healthy and fit, it could be a thought of “I am” healthy and fit (identity).
“Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.”
James Clear
Being Realistic….
I get it…
Now I do understand that not everyone wakes up with a spring in their step at the crack of dawn to exercise every morning.
BUT if you’re doing something that causes negative actions to a lot of things that you do, you probably need to make a change along the way to create behaviours which make you feel good and add quality to your lifestyle, not hinder it.
Pro Tip : If you can create the right process which gets you results, makes you feel good and is something that positively impacts yourself and those around you. You’ve hit the sweet spot and will truly understand that the process is the prize to a more productive and fulfilled life.
People will often see exercise and healthy eating as a punishment, but when applied in the right way it can do the complete opposite. Understand this and you’ll go far.
