Shew–whee, that was fun! At least it was a blast to watch all of you working so hard this morning during your “hour of power”!
Thanks for showing up, working hard and motivating each other to start the day with a mega-boost of energy, mental crispness, and productivity.
A busy schedule is a lot easier to tackle when you get the mental, physical and emotional enhancement first in the morning.
And tackle is exactly what we want to do when it comes to those things that trip us up the most with eating healthy and exercising regularly.
Yesterday we asked you to think of the ONE THING that sabotages you the most. Today we’re going to start to stare it down and find some solutions around it.
The easiest part will be coming up with the solution.
The more challenging piece is in implementing it. That’s because we tend to battle against our deeply rooted habits and learned behaviors.
Change “being hard” is just reality … but that’s not an excuse for why we can improve in any area we choose.
Keep in mind though, you’ve been doing X (the thing you want to change) for years, probably decades. So it’s not very likely that in 3 days, or 4 weeks, you’re going to master the change.
Just as the undesirable behavior that want to change was developed through repetition. The new desirable behavior requires repetition, over and over until they are as worn and ingrained as a cement pathway.
Which is why we do them over and over. Time and again. Despite wanting to take a different path. If we just expect ourselves to do differently we’re not being very realistic. Recognize that you must plan and think about what different path to take or else you’ll end up back on that same ole’ road.
And this is critical. Don’t let PERFECT get in the way of POSSIBLE. It’s 100% possible to change behavior … but if your expectation is you’ve got to do perfectly or not at all, nothing will change.
Work diligently toward what you want, BUT allow yourself the room to mess up.
Think about a 14 month old learning to walk. If she waited to take her first step until she could walk perfectly, she’d still be crawling at 39 years old. Treat your change the same as you would your daughter. Have patience when you don’t do it perfectly .
So let’s start with some solutions for those behaviors that trouble us the most. These are based on a lot of the emails I received in response to yesterday’s newsletter.
I picked one enemy that is within your control and one that is not. Next week we’ll offer some more strategies ….
1. IN YOUR CONTROL. Being tired — namely, staying up too late.
We all tend to do it. But at the end of the day I am to blame if I choose to stay up until 11 pm or midnight when I could have been fast asleep at 9pm. If you procrastinate going to bed, or get caught up in things that keep you up for hours, then try this:
Schedule a bedtime each night and make sure you HONOR it. Even if you’re lying in bed reading (as long as it’s not something electronic like a Kindle, iPad or computer, which can activate brainwaves that keep you up longer), you are still more likely to fall asleep sooner than if you were doing other things in your house. But note: if you are the type to get so engrossed in a book that you read until all hours of the night, choose to flip through a magazine instead. Save the book reading for weekend nights.
Sleep is CRITICAL. Our immune system is greatly compromised without sufficient sleep. And studies prove time and time again that our productivity drops SIGNIFICANTLY without it. Make sleep a priority.
2. NOT ALWAYS IN YOUR CONTROL. The See Food Diet — if unhealthy food is around, it’s much more challenging to say no. This usually is the case with work situations. Work situations can be a challenge because you are required to be there and there may be other triggers present as well (stress, boredom, fatigue, deadlines, etc). Consider bringing your own food when possible. It’s hard to say no when others around you are eating. So having a healthy breakfast of your own when bagels and donuts are out, or pulling out homemade trail mix when the cookies come around can be lifesaving.
Now for the implementation. Pick a solution and practice implementing it for a month straight. YES, this may be a challenge. Yes, you will not always be successful. But mental strength and NEW BEHAVIORS are learned the same way old behaviors are. Through repetition and practice. Repetition and practice. Repetition and practice. Then eventually the new behavior becomes more and more ingrained! So decide what you’re going to do, pick a date and get to work!
Have an AWESOME weekend! You’ve earned it. 
Your friend in fitness,
Springboro Adventure Boot Camp for Women
Tags: Brian Calkins, Springboro Adventure Boot Camp for Women!, Staring Down the Enemy
