Jay Azeltine – @Jay_Azeltine
Well, it’s the 1st of the year so we all know what that means..
We can expect lots of ‘New Years Resolutioners’ talking about getting healthy and fit all across social media as well as in real life. This is something that happens every single year at this time. People decide to get all motivated and excited about life because it’s the popular thing to do.
It’s really easy to hate on the New Years people because the fact is that most people who are following the fad and making goals because everyone else is won’t likely stick to it. Especially when we’re talking about working out, eating healthy and living an overall healthy lifestyle.
That being said, I think it’s extremely important to take the high road and support these people on their new journey instead of hating on them or making fun of them. Your support may be the difference maker for someone or many someones.
Take this example ..
Let’s say Bob’s New Years Resolution is to begin working out 5x per week and eating clean 90% of the time. It’s January 10th and Bob is going strong. He has been eating extremely clean and hitting the gym consistently for over a week now. He’s beginning to pick up some really solid positive momentum.
January 11th rolls around and he finds himself at the gym again. It’s leg day. He’s very nervous because leg day is the most difficult training split of the week for him. He has very small legs and has no clue how to squat or deadlift. These complex movements are very tough for a beginner.
Someone sees him squatting and he’s only going down about ¼ of the way, hitting some ¼ squats if you will. Two guys in the gym notice this and begin recording his squat with their phones, while noticeably laughing and joking with each other to the point where Bob notices.
Bob gets extremely embarrassed and down on himself. He immediately leaves the gym and heads home. Once he gets home he decides to eat some ice cream because he thinks it will make him feel better. Two hours later he has consumed enough carbs to kill a horse and feels terrible about himself.
The massive amount of positive momentum that Bob had built up over the first week and a half has now quickly turned into negative momentum. Just because a few guys in the gym decided it would be funny to make fun of a newbie.
Bob is now very likely to totally fall off of the wagon and revert back to his old habits of eating junk food and not being active in the gym. His whole life trajectory may have just been altered because of this miniscule event at the gym.
Now let’s rewind and play out the scenario a bit differently.
Bob is in the gym hitting his ¼ squats and a few experienced lifters notice that he’s struggling and likely just started working out. Instead of making fun of him they approach him after his set and begin by applauding him, making him feel good and giving him positive feedback.
They then ask him if they could give him a few tips that they have learned over the years. Bob accepts and they spend 5-10 minutes breaking down the squat for him. He immediately feels a difference in his squats. Bob greatly appreciates the two kind gentleman and begins to implement the advice right away.
Bob now feels a lot more comfortable in the gym and has a few new tools that will undoubtedly help his squat. He becomes more motivated and enthused about his new lifestyle.
Rather than going home and eating a barrel of ice cream, he goes home and cooks a healthy meal. Bob then proceeds to get online and begin researching lifting techniques.
Which Bob do you think is more likely to keep pushing towards his New Year’s Resolutions?
This quick hypothetical situation is a great reminder that the smallest of things in life can have the most massive impact. The gentleman in scenario two may have totally changed the trajectory of his life by simply offering some positivity and constructive feedback. Instead of taking the easy route and sitting back and laughing.
Life’s a game of momentum. Dieting and weight lifting are no different. The more positive momentum that you can build up out of the gate, the more likely you’re to stick with your initial goals and vision.
That being said, I encourage all of you (myself included) to begin going that extra mile to try and help others build up positive momentum towards their goals.
This doesn’t just apply to fitness and health of course. This applies to all areas of life. Relationships, business, etc.
Everyone starts somewhere. We all remember being in the gym for the first time. It can be very intimidating and scary. Do all that you can to make the “newbies” feel welcome and comfortable. If they’re willing to take advice, give it to them.
If they’re the type of person that either acts offended when they receive advice OR they don’t apply the advice, don’t give them any more of your time or advice. But it’s at least worth trying to help.
You could totally change someone’s life forever with something as simple as offering some positivity or quality advice.
I hope everyone has a GREAT 2018 !!
Until next time, Much love.
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