As a fitness professional, I get asked all the time, “how should I start?” Should I start with cardio or nutrition or weight lifting? Or should I start a new diet or protocol or maybe look into supplements and vitamins. Or maybe I should start a new bedtime routine and focus on self-care. Or…or…or… the possibilities are endless.
And you want to know what my answer usually is? I usually say, that xyz routine could be helpful but let me ask you, what is your goal? What is your why? Because if you don’t know what you want out of all this hard work, it won’t be sustainable. If your only reasoning is that you wanna get “beach body” ready, that will easily be forgotten when stress hits and that pint of ice cream begins calling your name. Or staying up all hours of the night binge watching the newest, hottest, tv drama becomes much more interesting than making sure you get your desired 8 hours of sleep.
I’ve spent plenty of years on that roller coaster ride. And it gets old quickly. The tingles that settles in your stomach stop being excitement and quickly turn to indigestion after the first or second time around. You really need to know why you desire to reach for a certain goal. Why you want to change. And your why will never be a shallow goal, they are always bone deep.
It can be hard work to find your why. But I encourage you to not shy away from that uncomfortable feeling. Take an hour or two to lean in and pinpoint why you want to start. Why you want to begin a journey in wellness. Write it out or talk it out with a dear confidant. Once you discover what is driving you, put it on a sticky note and tape it where you’ll see it daily. You’ll be grateful of the reminder as you get started. And it’ll help you be brave. Add on your favorite scripture verse and you’ll have that added encouragement on every step on the journey.
If you’re struggling, let me know. Maybe I can help a little bit. And if you don’t want to reach out, know that you are being covered in prayer and that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Give yourself grace on this journey as well. As you stumble and triumph, we are in this together!
Go in grace and God bless,
Colleen
