Good things come to those who work their asses off. Good things come to people who make goals and work toward them. This doesn’t mean you have to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning and grind all day long until you can’t see straight anymore. It’s all about the power of tiny gains. “Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.” – Jim Rohn If you aim to improve by 1% in your life on a daily basis, these small gains will compound into a remarkable improvement over time. The same works for the reversal of this notion as well – with a 1% decline on a daily/weekly basis, sooner or later you’ll find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place. A 1% change in your daily habits over 1 year results in a 38% improvement…THIRTY EIGHT PERCENT. Rome wasn’t built in a day, guys… These 1% changes are often not noticeable but make a big impact on the outcomes of your life. Think about the times in your life when you were consistently improving and achieving great things, and think about the times when you found yourself in not-so-great situations. You’ll notice those things all didn’t happen overnight. Small choices add up over time and whether they are good or bad will often determine your path. We often overestimate the importance of one single big event/occasion, and underestimate the importance of the things that are continuous and ongoing in our life. If you put more value into making better decisions on a daily basis versus prepping with gusto for one defining moment, I think you’d find more overall success in your life. This goes for work, relationships, diet, nutrition, workouts, and just being a kinder person all around. Challenge yourself every day to make an improvement. Whether that be running an extra half mile, sending a friendly “good morning” text to your significant other, smiling at 10 people you don’t know throughout the day, doing 2 extra burpees, grabbing an apple instead of a cinnamon bun, taking a deep breath every hour on the hour, adding $2 daily to a money jar, etc. I’m guilty of not practicing these beliefs all the time myself. But I do know that I’m much less stressed and in a happier mindset when I put these ideas into practice. For more information on the power of tiny gains and personal development, check out the following articles/podcast channels:
Questions, comments, concerns, just want to chat, reach out to me. Stay weird, folks.
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I remember one day at the bus stop in the morning waiting for my ride to school, I said to my mom, “I wanna try basketball.” She was surprised and was kind of just like “Well…alright, we’ll sign you up when you get home from school.” From there I slowly started adding in more sports and activities in my life. Basketball was what started it, then I started dancing a few years later, and then field hockey and track came into the picture. Dance and field hockey were the only ones that really stuck with me. In between season sports I would go to the gym intermittently, run outside every now and then, and then kept that up throughout college too. I would run and lift a few times a week but never really had any structure or schedule to my workouts. Fast forward to graduate school when I decided to change my activity level altogether. I joined a challenge on Bodybuilding.com in January of 2014 that was 12 weeks long and thought, “hey, what the heck let’s see what happens here.” I was never overweight, and was always pretty healthy with my eating habits but I guess I just grew a little extra fluff over the years. I remember one day I took a look in the mirror and fully realized that I had gotten “fluffy” and decided this had to change. Actually it went more like…”Oh HELL no, this has got to go.” So, this challenge I joined was coming at a good time. I fished through the pages of apps on my phone and moved MyFitnessPal to the front page, tracked my meals, and typed up a workout schedule that I would stick to religiously. I became more meticulous with which body parts I would focus on during each workout, when I would do longer less intense cardio, and when I would do high-intensity interval training. Long story short, I ended up losing about 17 pounds during that 12-week challenge. Then I kept up with my newly formed eating and workout habits and over the course of that year I lost about 25 pounds total. Jeans started to look baggy, belts started to not have enough holes in them, and I needed to start shopping for clothes that fit again. Ever since I joined that challenge, I’ve made my health and working out regularly a priority. I don't always track my meals anymore because I’m much more confident in knowing my portions. But I continue to workout regularly and have gradually changed my focus from losing weight to just being healthy and active. I’ve never been happier with myself, or my body than I am now. I’m writing this synopsis of my fitness journey because if it helps just one person take a small step toward a healthier life today, then it’s worth it. If I could do it, you can. Motivation, self-discipline, and getting out of your comfort zone in the gym were a big part of why I was successful with this. Questions, comments, concerns, need ideas, or just want to chat about things, reach out to me. Stay weird. |