When I think of the things I have struggled with, I notice something. There are times when I seem to do better for a while- maybe even have a level of success- But then there’s a period of coasting, then a gradual decline, before finally finding myself back where I started.
This can occur in any area- trying to stick to a home school schedule, keep up with house cleaning, wake up early, go to bed early, read every day… It doesn’t matter so much what the area of struggle is in- In each there is the propensity to see a roller coaster motion up and down between finding a measure of success to seeing that success vanish.
Why is this?
I’ve come to notice that when I have come to the tipping point or feel the threat of failure, THAT is when I am motivated to really push for change. I go hard for a while and really drive myself to do better, and soon it IS better. I feel good about that and you know what happens next? I stop going hard. I stop pushing myself. I coast a little.
Nothing really changes at first…. Or at least it doesn’t seem to change. But you can only keep moving forward by coasting for so long before you begin to slow down, then stop. And if you hadn’t made it to the top of hill, you then start drift backwards.
Maybe you’ve heard it said that we’ll do what we know we need to do when the pain of remaining the same is worse than the pain it takes to change. That’s true, but then when we do those things for a while and the pain subsides a bit, we no longer feel the urge to keep doing those things we know we still need to do.
But what if we consciously chose not to let pain be our only motivation? What if we didn’t allow a little success to give us a false sense of security?
The thing that’s usually missing in any push to get better is long-term consistency. Instead of being so relieved I’m not so close to failure than I was that I stop the forward momentum, I need to recognize my success by continuing the effort and changes that brought me to that point!
This fits perfectly with most people’s efforts in health and fitness. What if instead of only pushing at the beginning when its new and exciting, then letting up when we feel like we’ve accomplished a little and the pressure is off, then getting lazy… ‘Til we drift towards failure again and repeat the whole process… What if we get off the roller coaster and get on the consistency train instead!
A straightforward, doable nutrition plan with manageable workouts that are easy to fit into my day has made this a lifestyle for me now. I found the easiest way to remain consistent was through seeking support, accountability, motivation through a personal coach and a team of people who were on a similar journey as me.
It’s so simple and yet so profound. Daily steps in the right direction, no matter what. Being consistent, day in and day out. Celebrating the small successes while continuing to push and reach for more.
Designed Health 