“Ultimately, all news is good news”
-Dan Kennedy
As we head into the next two weeks of pre-super bowl Sunday, I can’t help but think of what NFL football players can teach us about fitness and weight loss.
When a pro-football coach and key players, like quarterbacks or defensive corners are asked what quality is most important to success in the game, they say, “very short memories”
When a quarterback throws an interception or a corner gets badly beat by a receiver, he has to forget it, and gear up to perform in the very next play. Actually I would say he has to instantly forgive and forget.
This is resiliency.
You can have great goals. A perfect fool proof plan. Motivation driven by a great internal system or even desperation will do.
But Resiliency is what’s necessary to keep going through those inevitable bad days and events you will encounter.
Because just to even get started you’re going to have to overcome your self-doubt, your past failures, the unsupportive people in your life.
Once you get started you’ll need resiliency to overcome those missed workouts, bad food choices, illnesses, crazy work schedules, travel interruptions, and illnesses…
That when handled properly will be speed bumps and not dead ends to you reaching your goals.
To bounce back quickly is a habit.
And it can be ingrained into your self-image and practiced like a habit.
Resiliency can be programmed into your self-image.
You need to create an image of yourself as the kind of person who is immune to temporary disappointments or setbacks, who can withstand occasional tough times with dignity and calm confidence and bounce back quickly from adversity.
Everybody has an experience of resiliency.
There are times in your life when you’ve had to be resilient.
As a child, when you fell over on your bike did you just get right back on?
In little league did you miss an easy fly ball, but play again the very next day and stop a difficult line drive in the very next game.
As adults we’ve experienced moments of resiliency.
I had never really faced any true hardships or testing until I reached my early 40’s.
Then 5 years ago an 18 month period I was diagnosed with cancer, had to travel outside the US for treatment, went through a divorce, had to close half my business, and faced a near bankruptcy.
There were no heroics involved, it was a matter of simply putting one foot in front of the other at times and living from one hour to the next with no certainty at the time.
I’m still here.
And though it sucked at the time.
I’m able to use that period as a touchstone for my own resiliency.
When I’m tempted to feel bad about a missed workout, program that’s just not working, terrible schedule that keeps me from the gym, I’m able to look back at that period and remind myself I can bounce back from anything and keep moving forward.
The habit of facing bad news, bad circumstance, or even a string of nasty events and bouncing back quickly is like for the NFL players, a habit.
And a habit that can be learned and practiced.
Recall every example of resiliency from your past and present them all to your self-image at once. Then tell yourself.
“Look, I’ve been pretty resilient my whole life. I clearly have the ability to bounce back quickly. Now I’m going to strengthen and emphasize this characteristic. I’m the kind of person who can take a hit and bounce back up, stronger than ever.”
Plug all those picture into your self-image.
And touch back and use those to remind yourself, you can recover for a missed workout or two or three! A 2 week illness doesn’t knock you off your weight loss plan, and a missed meal or backslide into a fast-food meal doesn’t mean you’ll never eat well again.
When you recover quickly and practice bouncing back it becomes who you are.
You become more resilient.
This is the part of weight loss and fitness that it seems no one tells you about.
You can’t improve the outside of you without the inside of you improving too.
It CAN be done and YOU can do it.
Dave
P.s. No matter if you’re looking to lose 20-30 even 50 pounds or more, and you’ve tried and failed before. We can help.
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