I originally started this when school started and I intended to get up earlier and workout before going to school that day. I had a really hard time at first. I am a morning person and work at my best early in the morning. My brain is fresh and creative juices are flowing after sleeping. You know when you wake up in the middle of the night and remember something random. My brain is like that all the time and I am at my best early in the morning. However, I am not 25 anymore and getting up early AND working out was difficult and near impossible. The getting up early part was tough because of summer break and not being used to it. The working out part was hard because I am getting old and cant get my body going that early in the morning. Then I found this book and it gave me the insight I needed to solve my problem. Changing my schedule or habits in such a drastic way literally overnight just wasn't going to work. But changing only a small part and taking baby steps to build myself up to what I wanted could work. So I just focused on the getting up early part. I have kept up with that and it gets easier ever day. I still haven't managed to work out in the morning yet. I just don't think my body will adjust to that lifestyle again. I literally have not done that since I was about 25 and there are too many other changes that have happened in my life and to my body to allow it to happen. I am good working out in the afternoon as soon as I get home or at night after Michael goes to bed. The point is that I still DOING the workouts and haven't brushed them off just because I am back in school and very busy. I still MAKE time for it.
Back to the book. I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from this book that really stood out to me. He gave a lot of inspiration about how changing things in your life a little at a time can eventually become habit for anyone and lead to bigger things. The overall message was not unlike The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. I can relate a lot of this book to my healthy lifestyle and coaching but it can fit just about any positive change you want to make.
-"The more often you feel successful, the more likely you are to do what makes you successful." this quote just speaks about momentum. Take losing weight for instance. The joy you feel when you have lost a few pounds or reached a goal is addictive. You want to have that feeling again and you will work hard toward another goal
-"If you don't feel rewarded by doing small steps and making gradual improvements, then you'll rarely stick with something long enough to feel the accomplishment of a big payoff." & "Focusing only on the results keeps you from achieving results by distracting you form the process. Focusing on the process ensures you get the results and enjoy the journey along the way." I know everyone has experienced this or knows someone who has given up on something before you reach your goal. Going back to weight loss, most people give up on a fitness and healthy eating plan because they are seeing results fast enough and get discouraged. They are only focusing on the finish line and aren't keeping track of all the small accomplishments along the way. You should be proud of every accomplishment, not just when you reach the end. Say you want to lose 20 pounds in 2 months. Instead of focusing on just the 20 pounds, try to break it down by 5s and reward yourself for each 5 you lose. Or be happy when your clothes start fitting better, or when you reach the end of the 1st month and you have already lost 10 or 12 pounds and you are halfway there. Be proud of the little things too.
-"If you missed a shower one day, would you wait until the next week to start taking showers again? (Hopefully) Hell no!. You'd go take a shower as soon as you got a chance. Why then would it be any different with any other healthy habit you're working to develop?" This one seems pretty self explanatory but I still like it. Most people slip up on their diet or don't get a workout in and give up the rest of the day or the week and vow to start over again next week. You don't need to wait until next week. Start over that second.
- "A few ways to alter your emotional state are with physical movement, music and the clothes you wear." I cannot express how true this is for me. I can feel like crap when I get up in the morning but taking the time to do my hair and makeup and putting on a nice outfit can make all the difference. The same goes for movement and music. I know experts talk about endorphins all the time and how they kick in with exercise and make you feel good. It sounds hokey and like a plot to get people to exercise but it is a real thing. It may not be endorphins but the act of moving or dancing makes you forget about stresses or that you had a bad day and just makes you feel good again.
- "Saying things like "my" when referring to your healthy habit creates a stronger connection." This one really struck a cord in me because after I thought about it, I realized how true it was. Saying "my" workout instead of "a" workout makes it more personal and meaningful to me and I a more likely to follow through with it if I claim it.
- "A hidden cause of sabotage is worrying about what others will think." This is why people don't live out their dreams, or try something new or just go for what they really want in life. If we worried as much about how to accomplish our goals instead of what others will think of us doing it, we could all be millionaires living the dream life. There are always going to be people that will bad mouth you, or be jealous of you. If there are people like that in your life, then maybe they shouldn't be in your life because they are holding you back. There comes a time in all our lives when we just have to suck it up and go for it no matter who it displeases.
- "Lack of time isn't a real problem, its how you manage your priorities. Lack of money doesn't need to stop you from taking a forward step if you are resourceful." I LOVE this quote because this is what I preach all the time as a coach. People say they don't have time for a workout. No one has time, believe me. I am just as busy as everyone else with teaching, coaching, being a mother and my wreath business. The difference is that I MAKE time. I make it a priority to set aside time in my day for a workout because in the long run taking care of myself is essential to taking care of everything else in my life. I say it all the time but "I don't have time to be sick." I have given up a lot of things in my life to get to this point but I don't consider them sacrifices because the things I gave up where pointless and had no impact on the betterment of my life. Television is a perfect example. I don't watch anymore, unless I catch an episode or two of Gilmore Girls while I am making a wreath. I have leaned to hate being idle and I fill every minute of my day with something meaningful.
- "Remember that growth is one of the six human needs, and growth requires confronting and overcoming what you're not comfortable with." You have to get out of that comfort zone if you really want things to change. No one can live without change and as much as it may hurt or be uncomfortable, it has to be done. Whatever the fear, it can be overcome with the right help. You cant keep doing the same thing every day and actually expect your life to suddenly change into the way you want it to be. If you WANT things to change you have to MAKE them change.
-"The very outcome of you life could very well depend on the smallest seemingly inconsequential decisions you make, not on the big life-altering choices." This is much like the message in The Compound Effect too. Small choices can change things forever and turn into big things in the end. In the book he used the small choice or change of doing one push up a day. It isn't a big change but something very small. It will get easier every time you do it and eventually you will progress and do more and more. Small choice we make can have domino effects for the rest of our lives. It is really up to you if you want to make small positive changes or not becuaes they can become huge positive outcomes.
-"The Hawthorne Effect shows that we do better when we know we're being watched and reviewed by others. So to improve your chances of success all you have to do is put yourself out there to be observed by others." This is the premise behind our monthly challenge groups. They provide accountability for participatns and that is the key to success. Knowing that our challengers have to report on what they did each day, doing a workout, drinking Shakeology, makes them more likely to do it.
I know I have put so much info in here but I hope you found it useful. I really enjoyed this book and the message was fantastic. Anyone can change their life into what they want it to be and it only starts with making very small changes that become habits and will eventually grow to into bigger and better things.
- "Lack of time isn't a real problem, its how you manage your priorities. Lack of money doesn't need to stop you from taking a forward step if you are resourceful." I LOVE this quote because this is what I preach all the time as a coach. People say they don't have time for a workout. No one has time, believe me. I am just as busy as everyone else with teaching, coaching, being a mother and my wreath business. The difference is that I MAKE time. I make it a priority to set aside time in my day for a workout because in the long run taking care of myself is essential to taking care of everything else in my life. I say it all the time but "I don't have time to be sick." I have given up a lot of things in my life to get to this point but I don't consider them sacrifices because the things I gave up where pointless and had no impact on the betterment of my life. Television is a perfect example. I don't watch anymore, unless I catch an episode or two of Gilmore Girls while I am making a wreath. I have leaned to hate being idle and I fill every minute of my day with something meaningful.
- "Remember that growth is one of the six human needs, and growth requires confronting and overcoming what you're not comfortable with." You have to get out of that comfort zone if you really want things to change. No one can live without change and as much as it may hurt or be uncomfortable, it has to be done. Whatever the fear, it can be overcome with the right help. You cant keep doing the same thing every day and actually expect your life to suddenly change into the way you want it to be. If you WANT things to change you have to MAKE them change.
-"The very outcome of you life could very well depend on the smallest seemingly inconsequential decisions you make, not on the big life-altering choices." This is much like the message in The Compound Effect too. Small choices can change things forever and turn into big things in the end. In the book he used the small choice or change of doing one push up a day. It isn't a big change but something very small. It will get easier every time you do it and eventually you will progress and do more and more. Small choice we make can have domino effects for the rest of our lives. It is really up to you if you want to make small positive changes or not becuaes they can become huge positive outcomes.
-"The Hawthorne Effect shows that we do better when we know we're being watched and reviewed by others. So to improve your chances of success all you have to do is put yourself out there to be observed by others." This is the premise behind our monthly challenge groups. They provide accountability for participatns and that is the key to success. Knowing that our challengers have to report on what they did each day, doing a workout, drinking Shakeology, makes them more likely to do it.
I know I have put so much info in here but I hope you found it useful. I really enjoyed this book and the message was fantastic. Anyone can change their life into what they want it to be and it only starts with making very small changes that become habits and will eventually grow to into bigger and better things.
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