The Trap

Well, it's here…the second week of February…just a mere 6 weeks ago you were sitting with a glass of champagne, watching the ball drop, and telling yourself (and maybe some other optimistic individuals) that this is the year! This is the year I am going to get back in shape, this is the year I am going to lose that 20 lbs and keep it off, this is the year I am going to start being consistent with my diet, this is the year I am going to get a workout consistently. But…then it got cold (literally -30), then work got stressful, then the kids got sick, then you got sick, then you were stressed so you made an exception and had a (small) pizza with a few of your favorite cocktails to boot. Now you find yourself with just under 20% of the year behind you and you are in the exact same (or perhaps even worse) spot than you were when that ball gracefully fell from the roof of One Times Square.  This is the trap, the breaking point, and all to often when people get to this point they abandon or change their goals “I'll just get the dress altered”, “I’m too stressed to eat healthy”, “It too hard with everything I have going on…”, and ultimately revert to “next year…I’ll…”.

Do not fall into this trap! It does not need to be this way! Your goals are still very much within reach and attainable. Use the following blueprint to guide you through this obstacle and to achievement!

• Perception - whenever we are faced with a challenge. The first hurdle is our perception of it. Do we believe it is attainable, it is worth our effort, do we see the path to completion and the light at the end of the tunnel? There is no avoiding obstacles, if we want to overcome them we must endure them. As the infamous Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said "What stands in the way becomes the way." Change your perception, change your direction.
• Action - in order to get over this hurdle or through this obstacle we must take action. As the old saying goes "if nothing changes, nothing changes" and "insanity" as Einstein said "is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". Schedule your next workout, buy a food scale, decide on something to cut out of your diet. Take some action (any action) towards your goal today!
• Will - this is where the rubber meets the road. This is the proverbial “grind”. Embrace it. It's not going to be easy but it's not supposed to be. As Teddy Rosevelt reminds us “"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty”. However, the light at the end of the tunnel is worth it and you deserve it!