Last week’s newsletter was focussed on having a goal to work towards, but being aware of the journey towards that particular goal is where the magic of change happens. I wanted to dig into that a little deeper in this week’s edition. One of the foremost practitioners in the world of health and fitness, Dan John, famously once wrote, “The goal is to keep the goal the goal.” This often gets misconstrued as focussing on the goal, when what he really meant was to keep the goal in mind, but follow the process of getting there while refining it along the way. To do so you need to enjoy the process.

If you don’t enjoy what you are doing then in all likelihood you will quit. No one wants to spend their time doing something they don’t like, even if there is a massive carrot at the end. That carrot might be an increased lifespan, or even better yet, a vastly improved healthspan – no not the supplement company, but rather how well you live, physically, mentally and emotionally. 

However, if you feel like the process of getting you towards that goal is a massive pain in the rear, then you are unlikely to bother with the process involved.

Which is where the quote at the top of the page, from good old GBS, comes into play: we have to change our mindset to make lasting changes. As it has been stated in this newsletter previously, the best way to change your mindset is by ‘doing’. (Action cures fear)

But the ‘doing’ is only part of the process. If we enjoy the ‘doing’ then we are far more likely to make progress. Which is why it is important that clients are asked what they like doing and don’t like doing. It is also important that clients understand why their goal is important to them.

Losing a certain amount of weight, or getting to a particular dress size, or being able to lift some spectacularly heavy weight, or run a marathon in a personal best time. These are all great goals, but why are they important? What will it allow the client to do or feel? And why is that important? What will that allow them to do? And why is that important? You could keep going with this, but the idea is there. Drill down into your why to find the real reason.

Once you know that the mindset has already started to change. 

It is the job of any coach to help you understand the process, and to help you build an affinity for it. Combining an understanding of, and an affinity for, the process is when the changes can really start to happen. And once you are there in the middle of the process you can start to refine it (or hand it over to someone like me to create and then refine the process with you). And then the process becomes habitual. This in turn means you are far more likely to hit that goal, no matter how big or scary it might be.

I could go on, but my clients say it best, and nothing means more to me as a coach than receiving reviews like this: “David takes the time to get to know his clients and figure out what motivates them, and more importantly, what doesn’t. David understands what makes me tick. He isn’t afraid to challenge me but does it in a way that feels really encouraging and never humiliating. He is always keen to celebrate the small successes that have combined to bring me so far in the time I’ve worked with him. This is a million miles away from those awful PE lessons at school. I never thought I’d feel so at home in a gym, or enjoy workouts as much as I do.”

If you’d like help working towards a health and fitness goal, I’d love to hear from you, and help you start to enjoy the process of working towards that goal.