One of my favorite quotes from Emerson is this one: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” This comforts me when I say one thing on one day and something seemingly opposite the next. Keep this in mind as we proceed.
Yesterday I said that I like baby steps. This is true. But sometimes some of us do better making a big commitment. We need the burn-the-bridges kind of system to propel us into change.
What does that look like in fitness? It looks like showing up to the gym every day. It looks like cleaning out the pantry and parting with the secret emergency stash of M&Ms. It looks like telling a dear friend that no, we can’t meet for pastries, but we’d be happy to gossip and walk.
The advantage of the Big Change is that it is really noticeable. Our dear ones might not treat our five minute daily walk with the respect it deserves and they might try to negotiate us out of it for any number of reasons. They still might try to convince us not to hit the gym for our killer elliptical session followed by heavy lifting, but they can’t minimize it out of existence, either.
A big change works for those of us who enjoy a challenge. It can motivate fighters who like an external enemy (even if it is fictitious or abstract!). It helps if we like the spotlight, if we expect lots of opposition or lots of support from our friends and family (as opposed to a casual “you do you” approach), and if we actually mean it.
That last part is the kicker. If we decide to do the Big Change, we have to follow through or we lose our credibility with ourselves and with others.
Here to help, whether it’s with big stuff or baby steps.
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