Many people talk about mindset within fitness but what do they actually mean by it. My
book really delved into the many aspects that fall under the term mindset, it is wide ranging and includes your beliefs, ingrained habits, emotions towards food and movement as well as much more. An important part of the picture is the attitudes you hold before you even begin the process of improving your health, fitness or body. I have noticed this has changed since I first started working with people back in 2002.
Back then, the vast majority of people just accepted the reason they are not where they wanted to be within health & fitness is that they haven’t done enough of the right actions, or have done too many of the wrong ones to get the results they want.
This day and age, the first place most people look is for some external reason why they haven’t got the results. It could be genetics, age, health issues, medication, stress, hormones and much more. There is nothing wrong with this, and for some people it may be a genuine reason, but for 99% of people the main issue is that it is hard to eat less and an effort to move more. Shifting the blame to something other than you is disempowering. We often do this as it is protective mechanism against being at fault for results. For me, this is the wrong way to look at the overall process. It is based on the premise you have done something bad; you are the problem and that you should be different from how you are.
I do not see it this way, for me it is a choice if you want to develop your health & fitness as you live with the consequences in either direction, so I don’t tell anyone what they have to do, I just support those who make a choice to improve this area of their life. Along these lines, the following two attitudes are helpful to adopt –
See Yourself as a Garden – Plants, trees and grass grow on their own accord regardless of what your views are on them. Vegetation when left to itself has a tendency to overgrow and become inhospitable with weeds and stinging nettles etc. If you have left your garden for a while or are addressing it for the first time then it will take a longer and a more concerted effort to get it into order. Once sorted, it takes regular maintenance to keep it functioning, but generally it is not that hard to maintain it. A garden is a garden, you do not have to make it nice, it is you who will enjoy it’s benefits and you who will miss out on it’s potential if choose to avoid tending for it. The great thing about gardens is that there are many ways you can arrange it and can choose how much time to put in, from dedicating your life to it or just doing the minimal to make it functional. You are not born a gardener, you have to learn, practice and then continue to care for it over time. It is about creating a place that you can use and enjoy as you see fit.
It is the same with health & fitness, it affects you whether or not you think about it and your body in the modern world will become a mess if it is not given time and attention. You do not have to focus on your health and fitness. It is both you who gets the benefits of it or lives within the limits it may have on you. Life is easier and more enjoyable if you have developed this area.
Assume Your Behaviours are the Problem – It is so disempowering believing some outside issue is the reason you cannot make progress on your results. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; you don’t go anywhere near as hard due to thinking it won’t work and this then lowers the effort level which gives poor results and the circle repeats itself. The only way to test if there really is an external block to getting results is to do everything you can to achieve your goals and see what happens. When you assume your behaviours are the block, you will be more likely to test this premise in the real world. You simply ask yourself, what would happen if I changed this behaviour. This accelerates the process of addressing the real issue affecting most people, which is discovering which strategies you need to use to change your eating and increase movement long term to create results.
What Does This Mean For You?
Take ownership of your health and fitness. Recognize that it requires consistent effort and maintenance, but also that the rewards are personal and life changing. Shift your mindset from external blame to internal empowerment. By adopting these attitudes, you place yourself in a position of power and responsibility. This perspective not only fosters resilience but also enhances your ability to navigate challenges and achieve your health and fitness goals.
Photo – I am not much of a gardener but I love cutting things down, a couple of years ago I had great fun in clearing a garden that was in a state of total disrepair!
