Forget Chocolate. Think Fear.

It’s dreary January and everyone is thinking of calories.

But to help people, I prefer to talk about FEAR. (Seems deep and odd – even irrelevant – right?)

You see, January, as we know, is viewed as a time for change. But here’s the thing. Change is SCARY. Even the smallest decisions about change can force a sharp intake of breath, bring a moment of hesitation, and often, stagnation.

So imagine deciding to tackle your most important asset – your health and fitness? That can be terrifying!

Let’s quickly run through a typical scenario………

Busy man/woman, pre Christmas, decides: “Look, I’ve neglected things all year, broken promises, BUT ….. I’m not going to beat myself up. I want to enjoy the break. GUARANTEED, I’m starting in January.”

What’s happened here is that person has taken the pressure off themselves (again). They can breathe a sigh of relief. And continue (merrily?) on the path they’re on.

Thing is, January comes around quick. Then they have to face the reality of their promise. And that’s when things get scary. They have to walk the walk.

This person will either (a) Do what they said or (b) continue the cycle of inaction, pushing things into the future.

Trust me, I speak from experience here. I’ve been the ‘King of Excuses’. Even working as a PT and business owner in Ely. Given myself enough reasons why I shouldn’t do something, or convinced myself, the time wasn’t right.

— Which kept me safely where I was (even though I was unhappy and in emotional pain).

And that’s the thing. Humans love familiarity. Some kinda caveman-defence-mechanism thing I’m told. Things being the same, helps us feel safe and secure. EVEN – if it makes us unhappy!! It’s a familiar unhappy which seems to please us!! (Weird huh?)

So for me, January is a time to focus more on our behaviours, less on “I’m not buying any chocolate”.

If you’ve followed us for a while, you’ll know our ethos regarding health and fitness is: it’s a state of mind. It’s internal. It’s how we feel.

On a positive note, we’ve always found that taking that first step is always the most difficult. We tend to build ideas in our head of what ‘it’ will be like – without knowing what is ahead.

Once a person overcomes this, they’ll literally look back – within minutes (I’m not joking!) – and think: “What was I really scared about? This is fine.” Then, they’re off.

So ……..

Of course focus on better nutrition in January, cut back on the booze and measure your progress with a way that suits you (all the usual stuff). But DO NOT let fear play tricks with your head and keep you in a 2022 state of mind. 🙂

What’s your main health and fitness challenge as we start 2023? Drop us a message and we’ll do our best to help you get going. 🙂