We’ve all said it. Change is scary. It’s unknown. It makes us uncomfortable. That’s why we often do everything we can to resist it. However, change almost always leads to progress, and progress leads to momentum.
Have you ever…
Moved to a new city?
Changed schools?
Changed jobs or even careers?
Made small changes to what you’re eating for breakfast, or cooked something different for Thanksgiving dinner. Gasp! No mashed potatoes?!?
Even changing to a new hair stylist or hairstyle-although you can just grow your hair back out in a few weeks-can seem daunting. Anyone else have the same hairstylist for 20+ years?
Our trash pick-up day just moved from Friday to Wednesday, and even THAT confused me on what day of the week it was. Change is hard, I totally get it. But you’ve heard it before and it’s true- the only constant is change. In business, in sports, in health, or war…”adapt or die”.
I used to hate change, until I realized everything I was missing. There are so few things actually under our control in this world. Deciding to change is something we control, as is accepting that change is inevitable. It’s still scary, but also exciting. Change is rarely fatal, and if you look at it through the correct lens, it will teach you a lot about yourself and the trajectory of where you want to go. We are all products of our decisions. Deciding to avoid change and thus progress is still a decision.
When you decide to change, be prepared for push back from some around you. “But we’ve always done it this way”, they’ll say. Find those that support you and are excited for your next steps. If you’ve done your due diligence, when you’re truly ready for change, you need to ignore the noise. Others will try to keep you where you are, because they know they are too afraid of change, and don’t want to lose you as you progress. Many will want what’s best for you, others just don’t know what that may be.
“But that’s how we’ve always done it”. I cringe when I hear those words.
Imagine if we listened: We would still be using covered wagons to travel across the country or using whiskey as an anesthetic during limb removal surgery.
This is something we see all too often when people first begin their journey in bettering their health and fitness. It takes a whole lot of commitment to finally make that decision, and there are usually a good amount of changes that need to be made to a person’s habits and lifestyle. And do you know what is often times the most difficult part of the entire process for that person? The people closest to them who don’t understand why they suddenly NEED to wake up at 4 am to get to the gym before work, or why they order meat and veggies at the restaurant instead of chicken fingers and fries. But the change is GOOD and it is NECESSARY. It leads to decreased disease and increased quality of life.
Whether or not Henry Ford actually said the following, it gets the point across: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Permanent behavior change is one of the very hardest things for people to do, but keep in mind the most difficult part of the process is taking that first step to get started. Once you can clearly see what needs to be done- what you need to change- it is far simpler to gain the momentum to make things happen.
If you have made the decision to better your health through fitness and nutrition but are having trouble taking that first step, click the button below. We can help you.