Great blog posts are born out of everyday conversations or at least good questions that come my way. Today, it was a conversation with a friend of mine as I was leaving the gym. We were talking about how we wish that everyone could feel the "addiction" of fitness and how once you get to the point of wanting and needing fitness everyday, it isn't such a struggle. You make the time to move your body no matter what because it changes your life for the better. You don't need extra motivation because you enjoy what you are doing, how good it makes you feel, and the results you achieve in the long run.
Sometimes, it takes people a long time to get to the point of really enjoying fitness. I think one day it just clicks and you think to yourself, "Wow, this is great! I really love __________." (insert your favorite workout activity) You may have been through a lot of things that you didn't like, but you "find the light" and the rest is history. I've read studies that say a new habit takes 6 months to form.....a habit that you stay with for the long term. We're talking about the healthy habit of exercising, naturally, here.
Then, the conversation with my friend turned to how we more specifically wanted to help our own friends and family to love exercise and get them to eat healthier. Almost like bottling up the "feel good" and letting our loved ones have a taste. I remarked to him that we can't change people, only model good behavior, invite them along, and encourage them. I've talked on my blog before about how motivation comes from within. You can give advice until there is no more to give and the people you care about will not change anything or try anything new unless they are ready to. THEY have to make that decision. THEY have to want it.
It's a bit disappointing because I see people that I care about with health struggles that can be reversed or prevented. I see friends struggle with being stuck in a fitness or nutrition rut that could be fixed by changing a few simple things that would lead to some real results. I wish I could change it for them.....I wish I could make it easier.
I can't. What I can do is patiently wait for someone to be genuinely ready to improve their health and be there to offer solutions. I can encourage, listen, and invite people to come join me in a class that I teach or to do a workout with me. I can show my personal training clients a new way to train and get them excited about their results. I can make people feel good about themselves.
I can blog about real life issues so that we can all think about it and make our own changes.
