by Michael Plank
Pun! Because this isn’t actually about barbells, it’s about habits.
There’s a whole world of content out there about having no excuses, never missing a Monday, being disciplined, etc., etc., etc. Some of it, we’ve even put out ourselves. It has its place. But it’s not a foolproof strategy.
You might have all the best intentions to get to the gym 3 times each week but it’s just not happening. The kids have soccer, your spouse is sick, you’ve got mandatory overtime, or big projects at work, and you just can’t make it in. And a day becomes two days. And two days becomes a week. And a week becomes 3 weeks and then you’re in the dreaded shame spiral.
Here’s one way you might try getting out…
Move the goal posts. If 3 times each week is too hard, make it twice. If twice is too hard, make it once. And, importantly here, celebrate when you hit that goal. Success breeds success. Wins stack on top of each other. And that, in turn, builds motivation.
But what if even once a week is too hard?
Then lower the bar even further. This is my favorite tactic in that case:
Put your workout clothes on, get in the car, and start the engine. That’s the task.
If you start the engine and just are not feeling it, turn the engine off, get out of the car, and go back inside without a shred of guilt. Your goal in this case is not to get to the gym, it’s to put on your workout clothes and start the car. You did it. Good job.
But (you guessed it), most of the time what will happen is that you’ll end up making it to the gym anyway.
But if even that one is too hard, then just put on your workout clothes. Or just put your workout on your calendar.
There’s almost always a way to make your action step easier.
But here’s the key to making this work and not turning it into an exercise in procrastination: be intentional about where you set the bar – what the goal is – then, when you achieve the goal (which should be manageable because you made it easy for exactly this reason), celebrate that you DID the thing you set out to do. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect. It doesn’t matter if it’s not the ultimate goal. It doesn’t matter if you’re not where you want to be yet. You set an intentional goal and achieved it.
Once you’ve mastered whatever goal you’ve set, however small and seemingly insignificant it is, bump it up a little. Master it again at the new level. Bump up again. Little by little you’ll get closer to where you set out to be in the first place.
As always, action beats inaction, progress beats perfection, and the thing you do is better than the thing you don’t do. Make it easy. And let us know if we can help.