top of page
Writer's pictureresolvenutrition

Find Your Why


Change is hard for all of us. When we get a new idea or goal in our head, we become excited. When we decide to join a gym, start running regularly, or eat better, the go-to response that most of us do is to buy items that we feel will “support” us and keep us committed. These purchases may be a whole new gym wardrobe that the social media influencers are wearing, a new pair of sneakers, or even an overpriced grocery haul from Whole Foods of items that we historically don’t like. Nothing about this is a bad thing. We're just acting on our emotions. There is so much motivation, that we think in order to solidify the commitment, we have to make these purchases. Most of us typically then go too hard. We over-stretch ourselves and go all-in on the new goal. Instead of starting by running 2-3 days for the first week for 10 minutes, we tell ourselves we’re going to run every day for 45 minutes. We throw out everything in our cabinets and commit to going vegan. (Please don’t do this….) Typically by the end of week one or if you're lucky, week two, we have burnt ourselves out. We’re either physically destroyed, mentally destroyed, emotionally destroyed, or all of the above. Then we revert right back to what we were at the beginning.


This is my problem with motivation: it comes on a Sunday night and is gone by Friday morning. We need motivation to get us into the game, but we need to develop discipline in order to stay in the game. A way to develop discipline is for us as individuals to understand why we are in pursuit of this new goal. The typical line from clients, when they sign up for nutrition coaching, is, “I want to lose fat and get toned!” The problem with this statement is that there is nothing truly meaningful about it. It lacks passion. Our job as coaches is to ask “why” until we get to the root of this statement. The truth behind it is usually found in individuals looking for acceptance of themselves or their partner. Sometimes it just comes down to a health scare. Unless we put a significant “why” behind our goals, the likelihood of us succeeding at them drops tremendously. The “why” is what gets you out of bed at 5 a.m. to go for your morning run in the rain. The “why” is what gets you through the gym doors when you’ve been sitting in your car for 20 minutes contemplating going home. When my goal was to compete in CrossFit, that in and of itself wouldn’t have been enough to keep me in the game. That goal was embedded in wanting to make my parents proud. My “why” was something bigger than me. That's what kept me in the game and allowed me to make sacrifices with ease. If you really want to lose those 20 extra pounds or run a marathon, you need to ask yourself “why” 5 times. I didn't just land on the number 5 because I like the way it sounds. The “5 Whys'' is a method we use in order to get to the root of something. Once you’ve figured out your “why,” then you need to set up your support system. This will come in the form of getting family members onboard, friends, and a Coach to create the road map for you to follow. Once you have done all this, you have fully committed to the process. The road will not be easy. To be cliche, nothing worthwhile in life is easy but the hard path leads to the most rewards. Success is there for the taking, we just need to ask ourselves “why?”




81 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page