KNOW YOUR WHY

When I was at school for the brief moments I was there (only 27 days in year 10 in total), I never played sports. In fact I didn’t do games at all for a whole year. I never did homework, so much so, the teachers would sit in the staff room and discuss what elaborate excuse I had this time for their own entertainment.

I have always been someone it is next to impossible to motivate. To be clear, I only ever intend to do the right thing; to help, to support, to be kind and effective. But, if you want me to do what you want me to do and it doesn’t align with me and with my values, you have next to zero percentage chance I will do it.

This isn’t because I am stubborn, half the time, I might even agree to do it, because I know it’s important to someone else, but it will never get done. It may go into a list somewhere, but it will never make the top of that list and forever be waiting in purgatory to enter the done column in my notebook.

When I turned 18 I went from roaming through life with no purpose, no confidence, no education and no idea of what my life was meant to now having an unbreakable focus that has never changed. You see, back then, I hurt myself. I almost got crushed by 120kg of steel during a bench chest. I avoiding upper body exercise and moved to the legs, only to suffer a slipped disc while picking up some empty plastic bags within 2 weeks. Then it all changed for me, one personal moment and a shift took place that changed my life. I met a physio who explained the inner workings of movement mechanics and what became known as functional movement. When I got back to exercise, I noticed many people making the same mistakes that I did in the way they train, in how they train; they seemed doomed to repeat the mistakes that had nearly ruined my body.

I started attempting to help them and they listened. I found my voice, I married 2 things I had come to care about. Helping people and improving physical health.

That was it, I started reading, and until that point I hadn’t read a book. I started traveling around the world to learn from the worlds elite in health and fitness. Until that point I hadn’t been on a plane. I started to do my homework, to do my daily PE like exercises.

Years later I saw a my PE teacher and told him that I was a PT. I was lean, with a sixpack and the last time he saw me I was chubby and shy. He said something like: WTF! How, how did this happen?

You see, teachers focused on just doing in PE lessons, they focused on punishment ‘or you will get detention’, they sometimes focused on how ‘do this drill or routine’. But they never focused on why.

As soon as I knew my why it hanged my life instantly. I became self-employed and have never looked back since. Now, I have personally worked with over 10,000 people and counting. All because I found my why.

You see, everyone wants to look a certain way. Or in some cases people want to stop looking a certain way. Think about it, when you started, you had a mindset of adjusting the way you currently look in photos, how feel in clothes. A few years ago, I posted a video about away from vs towards motivation. This illustrates what I have observed for many years now. In the video I talk about what happens with people. I talk about a client called Theresa who lost 9 stone, got in a local paper for the transformation she had achieved and then met someone and stopped exercising to turn up in the gym one year later 11 stone heavier.

I have seen this again and again. That’s why when I work with you I put together my lessons and habits for you not just to use as a resource, but to learn from and to educate yourself on how you can get control over your body and health.

Now, Theresa did know her why and that’s why she got there in the end. She was in a bad relationship and was abused by her ex. She wanted to find love, the kind of love that she deserved but knew for her to find it she needed to be the best version of herself. And in the end she did find it, but that’s where the story ends for Theresa. She found it, went into couples behaviour (eating and relaxing together, always seeking comfort). And she gained all the weight back again, until 1 year later they broke up and she needed to start the journey again only even heavier this time.

Now, if this is your why, it’s a great start. Without a big why in the first place you will never be able to get the results that you want. Perhaps right now your why is self shame. You feel ashamed of the way you look, ashamed of your eating habits, or of your weight. Maybe your why is for you to feel more attractive to other people, to yourself, or to get a partner or have a more open and loving relationship. Perhaps your why is because you want to be there for your children and grandchildren as they grow up, you want to live a long and happy life, one whereby you feel your best self each and everyday.

If you don’t remind yourself of why you have decided to change your body and health and why you are taking control of your health, when the time comes that you feel overwhelmed by life, work, stress conflict, pressures or obligations, you will find yourself succumbing to old patterns and behaviours mindlessly. Only to end up feeling guilty and stressed about losing control of your diet or health or exercise routine. If repeated enough you will likely want to quit. Afterall all, if you continue you will fail, so its better to fail fast right and then you can remove the pressure and get on with a normal life?

Wrong!

The trap here is, although it is very tempting, you know it means ill health and weight gain and ultimately unhappiness every-time you get dressed or have your picture. It might be a normal life, but without good health, without you learning to take control of your body and life, it wont be a optimal one and may not even be a happy or long one in the end.

So, answer these questions to first develop your motivation to get started and find your why:

Why do I want to improve my body?

Why is that important to me?

Why should I push through the hard days and continue until I take control of my body and health?

Then, reach out to me and let's work together to help you achieve this as a new way of life.