Month: October 2015

Why Should Physical Fitness Be a Priority, Regardless of Your Goal?

At LLUMI, no matter what our client’s primary goal is, we emphasise the importance of a healthy body. Whilst a few often offer a bit of resistance in this (won’t it detract my time and energy from my main goal?), very quickly we see our clients truly appreciate the importance we place on this. Here is why:

1. You are in complete control of your fitness – many other goals require the participation of others, the persuasion of others, the input from others (job promotions, financial goals, relationships, etc.). Fitness – it’s just you. So, without the pressure or variations that others bring, you are in your own domain and will very quickly start to see habits that help you to succeed and those that get in the way of your goals.
2. Fitness brings fast and guaranteed results. Everyone feels better once they start eating and exercising properly. The increase of energy, the clarity of mind and the feeling of physical strength is a key component in ‘feeling’ the transformation in your life. You feel like a new person, and you behave accordingly in the other areas that you are working on.
3. You get used to reaching goals. In fitness, we set ‘stage’ goals to keep you going and accomplishing them each week. Every workout, you achieve a new level of fitness and, so, you get in a pattern of setting and reaching your goals. Your brain then links this attitude to other areas of your life – so that you expect to reach your goals and you expect success. This positive mindset is crucial when planning and reaching goals in any aspect of life.

So, if you are signing with us, expect to be put through your paces in more ways than one. We have the best training team if extra help is needed, and many resources to keep you on top of your goals, physically and mentally.

Opinions are often varied when it comes to the question of sharing your goals and dreams with others, do you tell people? What if you fail? What if you change your mind? Won’t people tell you that you can’t do it? At LLUMI, we know all too well these worries and concerns. However, we also know the crucial need for accountability when it comes to achieving your goals.

Our advice? After engaging with countless individuals and helping them to achieve their goals in the fitness, personal and business world we definitely recommend sharing your goals with people. However, we do clarify this to sharing them with 1-2 KEY people, rather than everyone in earshot. Here is our reasoning:

1. Often when we dream ambitious goals and tell a lot of people, we encounter a lot of negative feedback, such as, “But your current job is so secure, you’re lucky to have it in the first place”, “You should just embrace your body as it is” and “Oh, don’t go and turn into one of THOSE people” – whilst the first two statements may be true (and we completely encourage our clients to appreciate and value their current state), the search for progress is fundamental in human satisfaction. So, to avoid the onslaught of negative feedback, we recommend sharing your goals and dreams to a couple of select people.
2. Choose your KEY people carefully. Often, they may not be the people who are closest to you, but someone who has either been on a similar path (mentor, or is likely to succeed on the same path that you are on (buddy). Those who know us best often have quite concrete expectations about our character and may resist change in our lives and personalities. Also, you do feel more relaxed about telling them that you didn’t achieve a goal. Entering an accountability partnership with someone that you know on a more superficial level has a host of benefits –
   1. You won’t want to disappoint them
   2. You will want to inspire them
   3. They are forming a new understanding of you and the changes you are making
   4. They are passionate about change in their own lives and will support you.
   5. New and solid relationships grow from these pairings.
3. Trying to achieve your goals without telling anyone leaves you to the mercy of any insecurities that you might have and the temptation to procrastinate and avoid behaviours that may be difficult, but are most powerful in leading you to your goal.

In order to truly Live Like U Mean It (What LLUMI stands for), sharing your path is much more effective than battling on alone. However, knowing that you are reporting to someone every week, fortnight or month keeps you focused and on track with your progress. Limiting your exposure to negative input also mitigates the tendency of self-doubt and temptation to give up. So, whether you hire an accountability partner (coach, trainer, mentor, etc.) or set up with a reliable and like-minded mini group, having an accountability partner is something should be high on your list of priorities.

Often we find ourselves going on very different tracks from where we envision our ‘dream’ future. What do you do when you hit that point, when everything feels just so far away? Here is a small guide that we find really helps our clients:

– PLAN: Where do you want to be….and by WHEN? Giving a date deadline is one of the most effective ways of getting you butt into gear and forcing yourself to act.

– IMPLEMENT A ROUTINE: Often parts of our BIG dreams are daily habits (in my case: fitness, yoga, eating, saving, etc.). These things need a build-up of small daily decisions that compound over time. By making these small decisions over and over each day, your will and ability are strengthened and, over time, you simply don’t even think about them being an option anymore as they are simply habits.

– REALISE HOW YOU ARE PROGRESSING: Being conscious of your path is crucial in self-development, as you can identify the areas in which you are making great progress, and the areas that you need to re-align and evaluate. Closing your eyes and hoping for the best will never get you to your dream life.

– KEEP AIMING HIGHER: Once you have achieved your goal, keep pushing yourself to do more. The most damaging thing for a person is to stop the habit of evolution. Growth is progress and allows you to enjoy this time on earth we have so much more.

– ENJOY THE PROCESS: We see a lot of people saying “I will be happy when…” Whilst achieving goals is a huge step and is worthy of being celebrated, if you are refusing to be happy until that change is made, it is unlikely to last very long. This is why it is important to enjoy the process. You will spend most of your life in the process of reaching goals, so prioritise your enjoyment and happiness in the progression, rather than only in the actual attainment moment.

A lot of us have high aspirations for the future (in fact, I’ll be bold in saying that most of us do). Whether you have a vision board, a single goal, or a complex narrative of how your perfect life is, it can seem like it is in the far away future. It is safe there, not requiring drastic change and holding a promise that, someday, life will be better.

When IS that someday?

In dealing with many of our clients, we are often surprised and impressed by the stunning goals and ideal lives that are put before us. We look at our client and think – they definitely could get there, but when will they start chasing it? Sometimes we don’t give ourselves permission to start living our dream lives early enough. We believe that we have to have it all at one time to start beginning. For example, one of my huge goals in life was to have a house by the beach, always do my hair and makeup (this is something I do to feel on top of things, not to impress others), be super fit and doing yoga daily, eating well and having a family. At this point I was at uni, single, eating absolute rubbish and barely exercising at all. I had my dream locked away in the distant future. However, parts of my dream were already attainable – I COULD already start eating well (BAM! Part of my dream was realised), I COULD do my hair and makeup each day (ANOTHER part realised), I COULD do exercise workouts or join a cheap gym that offered workouts and yoga (yep, another big part of my dream already), and I COULD actually start putting myself out there to date people (wow, go figure!!).

In reality, much of my dream was already attainable at little to no cost to my immediate self. For some reason, I thought I needed to have the house before I had the lifestyle, but that simply isn’t true. Sure, I have made my way and now have my house on the beach and my beautiful little family, but without realising that those little decisions to start living PARTS of my dream early I don’t think I would have ever arrived where I am.

Looking back, it really shows me that in order to make dreams happen, you need to take small opportunities and capitalise on them, bit by bit. See my next article for a breakdown of how you can do this.