I get that right now we are all talking about balance, giving yourself grace, and it’s the holidays.
But let’s have a real conversation did you earn it?
Let me ask you a few questions
- You want a new car? Did you earn the right to but one?
- You want to vacation? Did you earn the right to go on one?
- You want new clothes? Did you earn the right to buy them?
- You want… but did you?
One of the biggest questions ever proposed to me while being coached to reach my own goals was did you earn the right to go F-off with my friends on a regular basis instead of working. The answer was clearly no. I had not saved enough for retirement, I had a business but it was not weather proof as it is today, I did not have a budget or a plan to reach other goals, like buying a house but I had money. I had not earned the right to use up my time to have fun. Those are obviously big things, but this concept is completely scalable as you will see you read on.
I was reminded that those actions would come at a high cost if I did not start to earn that right to do them.
My fitness, on the other hand, was a different story. I workout every day sometimes 2x, I sit in saunas 3-4x a week, I do red light therapy 3x a week, I drink a superfoods shake daily, I drink celery juice daily, I always eat a salad with each meal, my nutrition is mostly on good, I work on my flexibility and mobility. I am active, I ride my bike, hike, walk all over, I box, the list goes on.
My point: That’s a lot of earning for when I want to do the opposite; overeat, drink alcohol, overindulge on vacation, eat a cookie, a doughnut, some pizza, or any dessert for that matter. I love dessert.
You are talking to a guy that lives for all of that stuff. And to a guy that needed to break through his negative mindset, guilty feelings, fears, and head chatter when thinking about my goals and with doing those things. It all came to a head with one simple exercise I do before I actually go and eat or drink those things.
I ask myself: Mike, did you earn it.
I am a person that never wants to owe anyone anything. If I did not earn it, I just knew I had to owe someone something. Well, that solved the problem immediately.
The only way I knew if I was earning it, as if I was eating well most of the time, working out either on a plan or 5 days a week burning calories and increasing my metabolism. Focusing more on my long-term health than I was on my short-term overindulging at the time. Also coming to terms with overindulging in what I wanted right then and there was slowing me down, making me unhappy, and would eventually kill me. I had to earn it. I would owe no one, not even myself.
Truth: plans work, fitness plans, nutrition plans, health plans work – put them together you no longer have a plan, you have a solution.
