The decision to take action and tackle your health, is a brave one.

It’s a choice that people often make multiple times throughout their lifetime.

However, as you probably extrapolated from the reference to the claim needing to be made more than once, it is most often an unsuccessful endeavour.

But why?

Why do people make the claims they’ll lose weight, and ‘get healthy’, only to ‘fall off the wagon’ within months, weeks, or even make the claims and never really start?

A number of factors contribute to this globally shared shortcoming, not least is lack of great training and nutrition information- although, you’re on the Luke Bremner Fitness Blog, so I can’t imagine that’s the issue you’re facing.

No, one of the biggest factors contributing to fitness goals going unfulfilled?

Lack of self-belief.

The motivation may be there- but if you don’t have faith you can actually reach your goals? You’re not very likely to hit them.

So today we’ll examine to various factors influencing the confidence you have in your self-imposed goals, and, most importantly, we’ll give you the tools and guidance to ensure such internal mindset factors stop being the roadblock obstructing your health and wellness progression.

You Need To Set Your Goal

We’ve covered the importance of setting a realistic, and motivating goal within the Luke Bremner Blog before (Check it out by clicking here), but anytime we’re discussing internal motivations, it’s best we at least acknowledge the need for a goal you want to achieve.

The key factor in making a goal motivating is it needs to be for you. Achieving your goal should bring you satisfaction, if it does the same for anyone else, great, but your core motivations must be driven by intrinsic desires- working hard to achieve someone else’s goal? That’s setting yourself up to fall off the wagon.

You Need To See Yourself As The Embodiment Of That Goal

Remove “I’m going to” from your vocabulary.

Well, in goal setting terminology anyways, you can keep saying things like “I’m going to make some tea”, and so forth.

But when you tell your friends about your new health goals?

Replace “I’m going to” with “I will”.

“I will lose 10 pounds.”

“I will fit into my old jeans by Christmas.”

“I will go the the gym three times this week.”

Talk with the utmost certainty about your intentions, and then bring them to fruition. Which actually brings us nicely to our next language-based rule for success…

Do Not Refer To Yourself As A Body Image

No matter what shape you may deem yourself to be in, you are not “fat”, and you are not an “unhealthy person”.

You may “Have some body fat to lose”, or “Be making better health choices from now on”.

However labeling yourself as a “fat and unhealthy” person gives you the unconscious admission that it defines you as a person.

And it doesn’t.

I’ve put on some body fat over Christmas period previously, to the extent where I knew I needed to work hard on my diet and exercise to feel fully confident in my skin.

But I didn’t refer to myself as “overweight”, I simply acknowledged I had some weight to lose- a distinction that is vital for a successful transformation.

(Check out Luke’s own realisation that he needed to take action and drop some fat himself here)

“You Are The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With” – Jim Rohn

The meaning behind there above quote is one of the primary reasons people don’t hit their goals.

We, as humans, are a social creature.

And as such, we tend to soak up, and adapt to our surroundings.

If the people in our surroundings aren’t bringing us up? If they aren’t helping us work towards our goals, or are even taking us further away from reaching them?

Probably time to reassess those whom we’re allowing to affect our moods and actions.

Here are the two main negative influences you’ll need to be wary of if you’re serious about changing your life and getting in shape:

1) The Doubter

This is the more obvious bad guy.

The one who scoffed and replied “Sure you are” sarcastically when you said you were going to start training.

The one who audibly laughed when you said you were going to wake up at 6am on Monday to get to the gym for a PT session.

They’ll say it’s just a phase, assume your new diet regime (AKA, healthy eating) is just a fad, and will assure you (and anybody listening) that it won’t be long before you’re back into your old habits, and the gym is a distant memory.

The best way to deal with such negativity? The obvious answer is to cut out such an individual, but we both know that’s not always an option (family member, anyone?).

The best thing to do will always be addressing the issue head on- explain how you’re feeling, how badly you want your goal (and remember, you will get there), and lay out to them how their attitude is making you feel.

If they won’t adjust no matter what you say, how you explain it to them, and you can’t limit your interactions with them? Recognise their attitude is a reflection of their own confidence- either they view you a certain way, and that changing will mess with their self-image and perceived dynamics of the relationship, or your journey for self-important is shining an unpleasant light upon areas of their life they aren’t yet ready to address.

This person is a pretty obvious barrier to you hitting your goals, but the second culprit is a little… sneakier…

2) The Bad Influence

This person is a little tricker to deal with- mostly because in their mind, they probably have your best interests at heart.

This is the person that you’d get the take-aways with, would go out drinking with on the weekends, and would love to laze around with on Sundays.

They won’t audibly put you down like the doubter will- in fact they’ll probably be supportive.

But, they’ll also be the first to text and call you when it’s binge drinking night, they’ll constantly offer you chips, or urge you to hang out with them instead of training.

A combination of loving you the way you are, fear of change, and possibly guilt they aren’t taking action themselves, tends to be the motivating factors behind this friendly sabotage.

So how can it be addressed?

It’s possible they need a nudge in the right direction, and they themselves will get involved in their own fitness journey- whether that means they’ll train with you, teaming up on weekly food prep, or if it just means you’ll text each other motivational messages to make sure you’re getting out of bed for your training sessions.

If that’s out of the question you’re again faced with the option of being honest, and discussing the bravery you’re displaying by taking action and making a choice everyday to work towards a goal that, oftentimes, is a daunting task.

And again, if it all goes south and nothing is getting through? Recognise your goals are yours- no one else’s, they don’t need to be motivated and believe in your journey, so long as you do.

Finding The Right Influences

The most obvious influence that’ll guide you through your health transformation would be a trained coach – someone that’s been there before, and understands how to help you get in the right mindset and headspace to hit your goals (plus fast-track the actual path to getting there).

Atop of the coaching prospect, it’s important to recognise that we’re living in unique times.

If we were born just a few decades earlier, we wouldn’t have access to nearly as many positive influences as we do today.

We have blogs (as you’re reading now), podcasts, books, audiobooks, YouTube videos- we have more information at our hands with the click of our thumbs than the smartest minds in the world could have dreamed of only a handful of decades previously.

Don’t allow your circle of influence to be dictated by your surroundings and upbringing- search out new, positive people and opinions, and make a conscious effort to surround yourself with voices that help push you towards your goal, as opposed to further away from it.

You’re more than capable of getting in incredible shape- the very fact you’re reading this sentence right now attests to that fact. So, go forth, decide on your goal, and smash it out of the park- because you owe it to yourself to lead your best life; and controlling your health is one of the largest factors in doing so.

‘How to stop doubting yourself’ and visualising yourself having achieved all your fitness goals is a powerful motivator to take action and ‘be the person you have to become’ to get there.

This can be a difficult concept to grasp at first, but by reading the above article a few times hopefully it will begin to make sense and you’ll be able to understand the benefit in this approach. 

All of our comprehensive personal training programmes do include help with the mindset and motivation components – including visualising your goals as if you’ve already achieved them – to ensure you’re successful in achieving your goals. 

We offer a complimentary consultation so you can find out more about these programmes and how we can help you achieve the results you desire.

>> You can apply for your consultation here.