Why Not “Just Do It”?

It sounds so easy, right? Just do it. Nothing to it.

If so, why do so few New Year’s resolutions last until Valentine’s Day? Or even the second week of January? Why do they fall by the wayside so easily for the vast majority of people?

Of course, there are many reasons, but there are a few that must be addressed before any hope of lasting change can be achieved. After all, that’s what we’re after, right? We want transformation of our bodies, health, life, marriage, finances, etc. And we want it NOW!

For most people who make impassioned resolutions during the emotional time as another year of their life ticks down its final moments, they are caught up in the feeling that they aren’t where they want to be and the new year gives the illusion of a perfect time for a ‘fresh start’. In reality, there’s nothing magic about New Year’s Day, nor New Year’s Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Groundhog Day, Columbus Day, or whatever ‘special’ day that you’re using as an excuse to procrastinate.

So, why is it so hard to keep those resolutions? What thwarts those great intentions? Why can’t we “just do it”?

Let’s examine some of the most common obstacles to transforming our lives. And then we’ll explore each one further in its own article, as each of these reasons is actually a multilayered, complicated aspect of ones’ life that needs to be addressed in detail, far beyond the scope of just one article.

First—-the biggest one of all: FEAR

Fear of what? Well, for starters: fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success (yeah, seriously), fear of pain, fear of loss, fear of ridicule, fear of ostracism……..feel free to add whatever it is you’re REALLY afraid of here.

Most probably don’t recognize what’s holding them back as a fear, and may not even know it’s there. Some are obvious, like fear of failure: “Why should I even try? I know I won’t be successful.”

Some are more insidious: “All my friends are overweight and have very unhealthy habits. I won’t be able to join them in eating and drinking fests anymore. They will hate me, make fun of me, and won’t invite me to join them. I’ll lose my friends!” Now, most likely, you wouldn’t really spell this out in your mind like this, but the fear is there: not belonging, losing friends, being laughed at, etc.

A biggie is fear of success. Sounds crazy, right? But, what if you’ve set a goal to be healthy and fit, and when you achieve that goal, your friends and family treat you badly out of jealousy? Or more likely, they see your success, which causes them to face their own failures and shortcomings, and since they don’t like it—they take it out on you. And many times, we are so down on ourselves, that we feel we don’t ‘deserve’ to be happy, healthy and beautiful. So we self-sabotage unconsciously.

Self-loathing and underlying emotional issues are at the very heart of why we want to behave a certain way and then find ourselves ‘powerless’ to avoid destructive behaviors. Once the emotional, mental and spiritual issues are addressed, the destructive behaviors will naturally stop because you simply won’t ‘be’ the person who engages in self-sabotaging behaviors anymore.

Second—another scary monster to conquer: RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Change can be difficult. Change causes anxiety and fear. Human beings are creatures of habit, and breaking those habits takes conscious effort and focus over time. How upset do you get when something minor messes up your daily routine? So multiply that by a million, and that’s how daunting it is to make sweeping lifestyle changes that produce healthy results.

Many are unwilling to change. They want the results, without changing what they are doing now. You’ve heard the Einstein quote a thousand times, but it bears repeating here: “The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over, expecting different results.” And there are HUGE industries built on peoples’ desire to get the results without the changes necessary, screaming at you from the cover of every magazine and TV commercials:

**You can lose weight without dieting!
**Gain muscle with no additional exercise!
**Get a fitness model’s body in 6 minutes a day!
**Get healthy with no change in your current lifestyle!
**This drug will cure that ____ (insert problem here)!
**When diet and exercise are not enough, take Drug X!
**This pill will melt fat while you do nothing!

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! LIES, LIES, LIES, LIES!!!!!!!!

This type of junk makes me so angry! It’s pure out LIES, evilly preying on your innate desire to have it all, have it now, but not change a single thing about who you are and what you’re doing. And makes the seller of the product a fortune in the process by separating you from your hard-earned money.

You don’t get miracles or gifts dumped in your lap! You ONLY get RESULTS, which are the direct CONSEQUENCES of your ACTIONS. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting. You are who you HAVE BEEN BECOMING!

Third—-a HUGE hidden obstacle: LACK OF SUPPORT

When people go to motivational conferences, business workshops, retreats, etc, they are often so incredibly moved and motivated that they are just vibrating with positive energy, fired up, and ready to conquer the world. Then……they come back to the real world. They rock it for a few days, but then their passion begins to wane, and they don’t follow through. Why? Are these things worthless because they don’t produce lasting change? What is it that happens?

What these retreats, seminars, etc. do not provide is the absolute KEY to success: surrounding yourself with a positive support system of like-minded people who will cheer you on to achieve your goals–and hold you accountable when you lose focus.

The same phenomenon occurs even when you make a decision to pursue a goal all on your own, in the quiet of your mind. You feel the pain that causes you to want to change something in your life, the desire to create that change, and the exhilaration of how great it will feel to bask in the rewards of the transformation. An inner fire is lit and you begin to burn.

You can be completely on fire with motivation, but when you start talking to your friends, coworkers, and worst of all—your family, that fire gets the fire hose turned on it. These people do not share the same goals and beliefs, and they certainly don’t want to see YOU outdo them! They want to keep everything the same (fear of change!), including you! They want you just where you are, so THEY are comfortable.

Sometimes, the people in your environment actually attempt to actively SABOTAGE your dreams and goals, to STOP you from succeeding. Usually it’s disguised as ‘love’. You know—“Just give that silly dream up. Don’t even try, because you won’t be able to do it. It’s for the best, Sweetie. I love you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

You know who I’m talking about! If you’re trying to improve your health, the very people who are obese, smokers, hooked on prescription drugs, constantly sick, always in pain, eating nasty toxic food, and never exercise—are the ones ‘worrying’ about whether you’re getting enough nutrients on ‘that diet’. Or that you’re going to ‘wither away to nothing’. What a joke.

To change your life and your health, you may very well have to change your environment! Find positive, like-minded people and create a support system. Seek them out! Avoid the Dream Stealers!

We’ll touch much more on how to do this in future articles. This is a HUGE topic, and VITALLY important!

Fourth—we all do it: UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

But we live in an instant-gratification society with a fast-food mentality. Have it your way, get it fast, I want it all, and I want it NOW!

Let’s say you want to release 40 pounds of bodyfat. You can’t safely get rid of that 40 pounds that has crept up on you over the years in one month! (Despite what all the quick-weight-loss hucksters say!) It took time, often many years, to get into your current situation, and you’re in that situation as a direct consequence of your current behavior patterns. It will take time to reverse the damage and create health.

It’s important to aim high and set challenging goals. But those goals must be broken down into bite-size pieces that are reasonable, achievable, and progressively moving you toward realizing the big goal.

Fifth—nice try, but fixable: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

So you want a fitness model body, but you’ve never ventured into the free weight area of a gym? Resistance training machines probably look like medieval torture devices to you. If you pick up a set of dumbbells, do you have any idea what to do beyond bicep curls? Does the idea of endless hours on a cardio machine make you sick? If you don’t know how to use the tools, how will you build your structure?

A big hurdle to overcome is the lack of knowledge needed to achieve your goal. It’s easy to use it as an excuse not to start. After all, if you don’t know what to do, it’s easier (and safer) to do nothing! You don’t have to know everything—find someone who does. Get help!

Another huge obstacle for most people is lack of nutritional knowledge. They ask, “What do I eat?” Do you realize how CRAZY it is that we even have to ask that question? Have you ever seen a deer, bear, lion, or squirrel ask what it should eat? Of course not!!! They just instinctively know. We are the only species on earth that has adulterated our ‘food’ supply to the point that we have no idea what we’re supposed to eat. (Well, actually, we DO know, we just don’t want to eat that way!) We have completely removed ourselves from any natural instincts we have regarding nutrition, but the good news is: those instincts can be renewed!

Sixth—building requires a blueprint: LACK OF PLANNING

Going hand-in-hand with lack of knowledge and unrealistic expectations is lack of planning. How are you going to achieve your goal? No matter what your goal is, you must formulate a plan that will methodically take you toward attaining that goal. Each step, regardless of how small it may seem, moves you closer to the goal. Baby steps create miracles.

You wouldn’t build a house without a set of blueprints. No bank will look at a business loan unless you present a thorough business plan. And you wouldn’t drive cross-country without a GPS or a map. You must plan how you will reach your goal. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Seventh—an A.P.P.L.E. a day: LACK OF CORRECT MOTIVATION

In my previous article, we talked about creating Revolutions in your life. You must “APPLE” your goals! A resolution, or even a goal, is weak if you don’t have the proper motivation driving you to achieve it. To create a Revolution, you must burn with an intense desire to achieve your goals. That burning desire must be so strong and burn so fiercely that it incinerates any obstacle that dares to venture into your path.

Making a resolution is flying on a wing and a prayer. It’s just a vague promise to yourself, and when you don’t keep that promise, you know in your heart you have lied. You’ve lied to your heart, your mind, and your conscience. It’s that uncomfortable, nagging feeling of things not being quite right. You can’t just make a promise, you must make a COMMITMENT and follow through on it with all your heart, soul, mind, and energy. Then your conscious mind and your conscience will be in alignment, freeing your subconscious mind to continue to assist you in achieving your goals.

Keep your eyes on your WHYS. Your WHYS have to be strong enough to get you to the gym when it’s cold and rainy, when everyone else is going to happy hour, or when you are tired. Your WHY has to be stronger than the temptation of office doughnuts. As a favorite author of mine says, it’s not about willpower, it’s about willingness. If you look at it as a sacrifice, rather than an empowered choice to improve your life, you’re doomed to fail. Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve your goal? If not, why not?

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Blessings to you in this marvelous New Year! Happy 2011!!! Make it your BEST year EVER!!!!

Be Defiant! Fight For Your Health!

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