“People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
~ Anthony Robbins
Consistency is the greatest key to success. Repeated daily actions toward your goals will move you forward faster than any other approach. Whether it’s writing a page a day to finish a book or increasing your steps per day with a 30-minute walk to lose weight, consistent action builds momentum. The more you do, the more you want to do. It’s a snowball effect.
Unfortunately, the snowball effect works both ways. The less you do, the less you want to do. Knowing this, we have to navigate through this tendency carefully. As I mentioned in the post, ‘Workout Mindset: Consistency Over Progress’, you do not want to beat yourself up for not doing as much today as you did yesterday. Some days you will feel more energetic than others – it’s only human. You have to take this energy fluctuation into account and plan for it.
What will you do on your low-energy days? You have to set a realistic minimum or base to commit to. For example, if you can walk 1 hour a day normally (on days where you have your typical energy) then you may set a base of 30 minutes on days where you are low on energy. Yes, you have walked less than normal, but at least you performed an action toward your goal. By doing 30-minutes, you keep the momentum going in the right direction.
This approach might sound logical and easy for some, but many people struggle with it. They have an ‘All or Nothing Mindset’. It’s either going to be one of the greatest workouts in their life or sit on the couch eating potato chips all day. This form of extremism often backfires and seldom works, especially in the long term. A few missed workouts in a row and it will be weeks, months or even years before the next one. Don’t set yourself up failure and avoid this extreme mindset at all costs.
By setting a base, you are establishing standards for yourself. On a good day (during the week), I will go to bed at night at 9:30 pm and at the latest (worst case scenario), 10:30 pm. This way, I set a sleep standard for myself. If you do not have principles, core values and standards to live by, then it will be much easier to go off track and lose momentum. Your goals will get lost in the chaos.
What if I am too tired to do my minimum workout? When you don’t feel like exercising, just do a very light warm-up. You’ll often be surprised at how quickly your feelings change and you actually end up doing the whole workout. Why? Once you get moving, no matter how slow or light it is, your body releases natural, feel-good hormones called endorphins. These endorphins offer a free energy boost! I cannot tell you how many times I have used this strategy (with myself and clients) and ended up having some of the best workouts. You can definitely do the same to build momentum, break through obstacles and achieve your goals!
Your V10 Health Coach,
Sal Crispo
P.S. If you are interested, I also make a coaching video for each of these posts on YouTube. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel so you do not miss out on any of the valuable content I share. Here is the link for this post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niqWB-fjhjY