In the Mark Fisher Fitness Snatched in Six Weeks® program, we always ask, what is your “Why”? Why are you committing to this for 6 weeks? Why are you stepping out of your comfort zone? Why did you just give us a month’s rent to do this? Having a strong Why is super important when it comes to taking action and getting started.
The process of planning our goals is exciting! Our bodies produce endorphins and our brains become flooded with the possibilities of our awesome new ways of being. We know what we want, we know why we want it, and we are sure we are going to get it. “I want to lose 10 pounds, I want to feel confident, I want to book a Broadway show, I want to get laid by every dude in Manhattan…and a few in Brooklyn.”
These WHYS are great to get us started, however, the road to health and hotness can have a few bumps along the way.
What if losing 10 pounds is your Why, and you only lose 1 pound in the first 2 weeks? What if discouragement sets in? The honeymoon phase and newness of it all will start to fade, and it will start to feel like work. The 10 pound Why suddenly becomes, “I want to lose 10 pounds, but that means another month of not eating [fill in the blank]. It means I can’t drink even though my friends are visiting from out of town. It means I will have to continue peeing 46 times a day.” You could start to create negative meaning around the process, and then your Why won’t be strong enough.
I’m going to fill you in on a little secret though.
Nothing has meaning besides the meaning you give it.
It’s true.
You get to choose the meaning that surrounds your Why. If taking 6 weeks to work toward health and hotness only looks like sacrificing your favorite food and drink—your favorite margarita from Blockheads, that piece of funfetti cake at your niece’s birthday party, or forcing yourself to get up an hour earlier three days a week to work out—what kind of message are you sending yourself? It all sounds like a chore. If the meaning you’re giving your Why is, “I’m missing out” then why would you want to stick to it?
Turbo Charge Your WHY (TWEET THAT SHIT!)
What if taking 6 weeks to achieve health and hotness means you get to try new foods? You get to feel good when you get out of bed in the morning and have energy to make it through the day? You get to take an hour for yourself and see what your body can do?
What if the meaning you create has so much power that it fuels your Why, so instead of feeling like work, it feels like you are being lifted to new heights of glory?!
The good news is, you can!
Here is my challenge to you.
Write down your Why.
Example: I am doing Snatched because I want to lose 10 pounds and feel confident when I walk into the audition room. .
Write down 5 potential mental obstacles you could create over the next 6 weeks that would un-fuel your Why.
Example:
- I don’t get to drink at the bar with my friends
- I can’t eat the food I want
- I have to get up early to workout
- I’ve worked so hard for 2 weeks and I don’t see changes yet
- I don’t know if I can maintain this when Snatched is over
Take a minute. Look at those negative meanings. Now, spin them around. Write down 5 positive meanings that fuel your Why and get you excited.
Example:
- I am finding new ways of being social with my friends.
- I am trying new food and getting more creative in the kitchen.
- I’m getting up to take an hour for myself, to do something good for my body.
- I’m creating momentum and starting to feel energized
- I’m collecting tools for my tool box to apply to my life
Creating positive meaning around your Why before the journey becomes challenging will help you push through when it does. You have to get your mind right before the hard comes. You have the power, right now, to create meaning for your Why.
If nothing has meaning besides the meaning you give it, why not make it mean something incredible? (TWEET THAT SHIT!)
What are you gonna do to turbo charge your Why? Leave a comment and let’s talk about it!