Turning "Hard" into HABIT

Being a fitness coach, I am often called upon to make suggestions to my clients about behavior changes that we both know will be powerfully beneficial for them. Typical response?

“Yeah, but it’s so HARD.”

Okay, that may very well be true. I get that. Making any positive change is not without its challenges. Things that are hard for me may not be hard for you, and vice versa. I get that too - we’re all different and can’t expect to feel the same way as another person all the time.

So while respecting everyone’s perception of what constitutes “hard,” I’d like to offer a little perspective.

As a human being, you will undoubtedly encounter some very hard things in life - loss, hardship, grief, pain.

Eating asparagus and spinach? Not exactly painful. Packing up your gym clothes the night before and committing to hit up that spin class after work? Definitely nothing like grief. I’d like to argue that these fortifying, health-bolstering practices don’t really fit any of the above categories - though we often like to tell ourselves that they do.

Instead of focusing on how “hard” everything is in the moment, think of every decision as getting you closer to making that good, albeit currently hard, thing a habit. The more unwavering you can be in your pursuit of establishing your desired behaviors, the more of a permanent space you carve out for them in your life.

If you fight to get to the gym Monday through Friday every week, no exceptions, that will become the norm for you and that hour after work will automatically “belong” to the gym. You’ll find ways to work around that constant in your life, rather than trying to fit it in around other activities you’ve prioritized instead.

By the same token, if you refuse to let your nutrition fall by the wayside and instead commit to making smart, balanced dietary choices at least 90% of the time, you will reset your baseline and start feeling so good that what once was challenging is now your new normal.

The more time you devote to integrating these initially tough but undeniably rewarding activities into your life, the more likely you’ll be to find that the challenges you perceive now will eventually cease to be hard and just become a habit.

Trust that the juice will be worth the squeeze - we both know it will be! :)

Need some help? Let me know! Have questions? Bring them on!

Please feel free to comment, upvote, or resteem :) I truly appreciate your support and feedback!