#4 Mental Madness – No Pain, No Gain – says who?
For some reason we love quotes from people and often make them “truths” without knowing the origin nor science behind them. How often have you heard “no pain, no gain” suggesting that anything good you want in life is very difficult to come by. Do you now who said it? Do you know why she/he said it? More importantly, do you know that believing it has set you up to experience it… there is a better way!
Come for a run with me so that we can talk about it…
You are worthy of achieving your goals, so stop making them impossible. Instead of aiming to lose 30kg to reach your goal weight in three months, how about focusing on losing 2.5kg next month! Lose 2,5kg every month and in only 1 year you will reached your goal weight! Or instead of implementing a strict budget, how about trying to spend R500 less on your credit card this month and in two months you set a new limit. In only 1 year you will have R6000 less on your credit card!
So when you take on change – go small, go fun, go enjoyable. Forget about the pain, your are worthy of the gain!
Even when I take on a big event (aka 250km in the desert) and I don’t have years to train (but only 3 months), I start in the same place. Small and loving it. I have learned over the years how to quickly increase intensity without increasing the pain, thus keeping my excitement, love and motivation in tact! I can teach you how 🙂
Thanks Cobus! This made me wonder about the quick-fix mentality out there though…I feel that so many of us are looking for the easy answer to our problems, something that will work overnight! So far, my experience in life is that there are no quick fixes…it’s about consistency and putting little bits of effort in to see the big rewards over time. Is what you share here conflicting with that? Do you believe in quick fixes??
Hi Tammy. It is exactly what I am saying! The quick fix mentality would be the one signing up to the gym going so big and so hard (no pain no gain) thinking that he/she would reach their goal within the next month. Or the person that goes on a juice diet, starving themselves to get to that goal weight. The no pain, no gain thinking is very much connected with the quick fix thinking. I am suggesting slow, having fun and falling in love with it – this will lead to consistency and result in a sustainable change.
Thanks for the question – brilliant!