31 Aug Be Honest With Yourself – Succeed in Fitness & Life

• A lot of people are self critical and mistake that with being honest with themselves.
• A lot of people are deluding themselves into thinking they are doing better than they really are.

How can that be – is it not contradictory?

Well, like everything life is not simply black or white, one way or another. We have grey areas everywhere. In some areas our inner critic comes out and when she/he comes out she means business. If we would hear anyone talking like that to someone we would be like: “Hold on there for a second, you cannot talk to that person like that!”

On the other hand we have often plenty of areas where we think we do pretty well but really may do only a mediocre job at best.

What does that have to do with fitness?

• The Inner critic: people who have a strong inner critic have often a tendency to be harsh to themselves when they mess up, cheat, etc. The consequence is often that they say in their mind: F*** it, I suck, I already cheated, might as well go for it. In addition, they are more likely to not try again because they don’t want or need that negative feedback anymore. They give up more easily. Research in the field of “Positive Psychology” in the pasts 15 years has shown that people in this area are often doing better by training “mindfulness” in combination with self-compassion. It seems allow them to be human, to not go all out after cheating but resetting their efforts.
• The person who thinks they eat or exercise better than they really do has a different problem. They don’t understand why they don’t make any progress despite their perceived effort. If you fall into this category, get an honest assessment by a third party like a trainer. Write down your training and the times you actually went, the effort you put in. Write down your food intake clearly to see for you and your personal trainer. It is eye opening and often fixes the problem.

What does that mean for you?

It is important to find a positive but honest environment that supports your efforts and holds you accountable. Your spouse or partner is often not the right person for that job because we have a tendency to take things to personal. Better would be a life coach, personal trainer, doctor, or dietitian. If for some reason you cannot afford that make sure to write it down for yourself. There are also “mindfulness classes” that help you be more self aware and teach self compassion as well.

If you are looking to get help with your program, we are always there for you.

Michael