Seeing the Light

Come with me if you dare, on a journey to the TRUTH. (Cue the Sanskrit chants…But seriously, humor me.)

So, where is the light?

It’s in your mirror. And in your brain. And in your gut. It’s that jolt of emotion that makes you turn away from your reflection and run to the fridge. The light is hurting your eyes because you’re not ready for the truth of it.

What is the light?

The light is the thing you see when you finally stop buying your own BS and get your head out of the ice cream carton.

The BS is the dark. It’s what causes you to rationalize a second (or third) heavy dessert in the span of a week. It’s what whispers in your ear, “It’s okay. Use the 8-pound medicine ball.” or “She said sprint, but it’s okay to jog. I’m here, aren’t I?”

Does any of this leave you feeling exposed?

Is it time to go ahead and look into the light?

Let’s start with your goals. Chances are if you’re just phoning it in you have no clear health and fitness goals. It means it’s time to regroup and tune into your heart.

What do you want out of all this?

Is your goal simply to show up for boot camp? Well, that’s a good place to start. But where do you go from there? Do you grow complacent and find yourself rationalizing more and more junky snacks? Do you wonder what the point is? Do you feel like you’re riding on the merry-go-round of mediocrity?

It might sound cheesy, but give goals a chance. Imagine that you have a fitness goal. Maybe it’s to love your body in a bikini by June. Or maybe it’s to be able to run five miles without stopping, or do a set of pistol squats by a certain date.

Now imagine yourself working toward that goal. Your focus shifts. You work out a strategy. You research. You plan. You embark on your journey and one night you’re at a party and there’s a huge platter of pastries and all of a sudden, they don’t look irresistible anymore.

In fact, those doughy concoctions look like an obstacle placed between you and your goal, a test you’re determined to pass. To have that éclair wouldn’t be the worst thing, especially if you stopped at one. But if you have the éclair, and the wine, and the crackers and the fondue, and you wake up the next morning and drown your sorrows in a big old raisin bagel with a tall OJ chaser, then your goals are being compromised.

Without a goal, you’re better at BS-ing yourself. You muddy your own waters and then one day you’re in boot camp wondering why you’re not breaking a sweat, and why you’re still the same shape and size as when you started.

If that’s the case, you may as well eat a box of donuts for lunch and call it a day.

So here’s a boost—a little list of short-term goals to give you a taste of clarity, drive, momentum and RESULTS.

-50 military pushups within 2 months (Pushups For Charity is right around the corner! HINT HINT)
-A one-minute handstand hold in one month
-A five-mile run in under 50 minutes
-Give up all processed foods and/or sugar and/or dairy and/or wheat for one month and track your moods.
-Commit to transforming your body into a lean, mean, bootcamping machine that looks HOT in a bikini by the time school’s out.

Notice that none of these goals is anything like, “lose ten pounds by my birthday,” or “get rid of this flabby ass,” or “eat 800 calories a day.” Those right there are discouraging, undermining, and just plain mean “goals,” not to mention unsustainable, temporary and vague.

BUT‚ challenging yourself to build muscle, get stronger and healthier are positive, specific goals that you can hitch a lifestyle to AND sustain over a period of time. Because once you conquer those pushups, chances are you set your sights higher, on a chin-up bar perhaps.

So go ahead and let a little light in. Set a goal. Stop BS-ing yourself. Because if we’re being perfectly honest, what do you have to lose?

You know the answer to that one.

🙂