I used to be so proud to claim the “hustle” culture. The “no time for sleep” warrior. The “discipline is king or you’re weak” vibe. That mentality helped me accomplish some great milestones but what I’ve learned is it’s not sustainable. I found it most helpful when I needed to push through to finish a project such as term paper, cramming for an exam, work deadlines, etc. Things that had a hard end date and allowed some sort of reprieve afterwards.
It took me too long to realize this but there is no “end” to fitness and health. Of course there are milestones like a target weight to hit but then comes the maintenance. Take 75 Hard for example or, if I really want to date myself, P90X & Insanity style programs. Things that are designed to really push you for a certain amount of time. I will never knock something that others have found success in. If it works for you, wonderful. It used to work for me too until it didn’t.
What this really comes down to is mindset. Slowly but surely, I’m learning that I can push myself when necessary but EVERYTHING can’t be necessary. Big push on the work front + big push with workouts + a big push on healthy eating takes an awful lot of time, preparation and coordination to pull off. I was a high functionion...robot. I would be smooth sailing then the moment the real world disrupts my perfect plan, I would go spinning out like a NASCAR wreck.
I’m learning to combat this by leaning into a softer lifestyle. Not to be mistaken for a lazy lifestyle. Here are some of the adjustments I’ve made:
Focusing on getting in 10K steps throughout the day instead of running
Focusing on a “diet” I blended together instead of the hard rules of (insert whatever diet)
Focusing on strength training when necessary instead of obsessively
I’m constantly evaluating and working to remove (self inflicted) resistance from my life. I was so focused on becoming “a runner” but don’t like running. So anytime that I would go running, I had to give myself this extra pep talk just to get started. Ultimately, my goal was 10,000 steps so incorporating walking throughout my day has been much easier than constantly psyching myself up & forcing myself to do something I don’t enjoy.
I’m learning to pick the things I can do consistently over the fast results of the grit & grind. If the journey goes on forever, then what’s the rush? And if you say "summer body" we're going to have a talk about self love!
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