It starts in your mind.
The information is out there. How to gain muscle. How to lose fat. How to train effectively. How to recover. How to get proper sleep. How to eat to maximize our bodies.
But let’s be honest...
Most people will glaze right over it and come up with an excuse as to why they can’t personally do it:
‘I’m too busy.’
‘I have kids and there isn’t enough time.’
‘My work doesn’t allow for this or that.’
For one reason or another, their specific life just can’t be healthy.
Changing a lifestyle begins by changing the thoughts inside of our heads. It begins by flipping a switch. And if that switch isn’t flipped, our lives will never fully change (the problem is people try to begin to take on a major life change without flipping this switch).
Here is what I mean.
We must commit to a new identity. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and say ‘I am the person that is healthy’ — and begin to actually BELIEVE it.
At first it may seem in contradiction to our current identity. But with each small action (ie. an apple for a snack instead of a candy bar, choosing water over soda, or hitting that workout instead of finding an excuse to skip), we begin to embody this new identity.
Each small decision isn't actually small — it is shaping who we are becoming. When we become aware that the small decisions are actually shaping us, we can begin to shape our lives how we want to (with each choice we make).
This is empowering… change just became tangible.
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, mentions ‘Every vote is an action for who we want to become’.
When we declare who we want to become, these votes now become exceptionally meaningful.
So, put it out there. Share it. Declare it. Identify yourself as it. When we put it out there in the world ‘this is who I want to become’, it becomes real.
Each action (or vote) from here on out now either reinforces that we are indeed healthy, or that we aren’t. We either build or breakdown that identity on a day to day basis.
If we commit to 8AM workouts each morning before work, and the time comes to train and we don’t go, what does this say about us? If we do go, what does that say about us? These aren’t just small choices — we are literally shaping how we view ourselves.
Each time we show up, our identity gets stronger, and it becomes harder and harder to stop doing what we committed to. Why? Because we now are building the identity of a healthy person, and skipping a workout makes us feel like we aren’t that anymore. It makes us feel like we are violating a part of who we are. Because of this, momentum builds rapidly.
When this flip is switched, there is no stopping it.
There is no ‘I’m going to start my diet next week’.
There is no ‘Next month it’s go time’.
It starts right here, right now. As soon as it is declared.
‘I am the person that is healthy. I am going to prioritize my health even though I have a busy schedule. I am going to find 45 minutes per day to move my body even with other things going on in my life. I am going to be mindful of the types of food I am consuming.’
It’s a simple question: Am I the type of person that is going to be healthy, or am I not? The choice is staring each of us in the face, most people just avoid the question all together. Because change is uncomfortable. Because change is violating your current identity.
Now, have you asked yourself this question? Or is there an excuse in there still holding you back?
Transforming your body doesn’t start in the body, it starts in the mind, flip that switch.
Looking to see how I train every single day of the week? Check out my full program here.