How this cigar and this shot actually brought me closer to my goals. Read on…
Ask yourself before you do anything, “is this going to help me?”
For starters, if you’re not motivated to make the necessary sacrifices to meet your goal, then this question may not apply. But if you are motivated and you want to get in better shape, have a better body or just feel better about yourself, then read on and let me know your thoughts in the comments section…
This question is an obvious one when it comes to your diet and when I began asking this simple question I began to take some major strides in my training. When I’d have a coffee (cappuccino) I used to add sugar, chocolate powder and cinnamon, now I just add cinnamon (great for fat loss as it has a positive effect on your blood sugar levels). I used to add ketchup to my eggs thinking that the extra calories would help me put on some pounds, but they weren’t helping me put on the right pounds.
Some things aren’t going to hurt you, but they won’t help you either.
I have found this question most useful in the everyday stuff. The little snacks that I might want but don’t really need, or even the time of day I workout – I find my morning workout sessions are a lot more intense than they are in the evening, so I’ll train in the am. Stupid little things like the sugar and chocolate powder on my coffee, I don’t need them, and now I can actually taste the coffee which I have grown very fond of :).
My training also benefited in a big way from this simple little question. I’m the kind of guy that always wants to do more, workout longer, run longer, basically do more than the other guy, but that’s not always a positive mindset. I asked myself, do these hour and a half long workouts help me? The answer was no, I needed to cut down the time of my sessions and increase the intensity. How about the run I want to go for in the afternoon, is that going to help me put on more muscle? Nope. It made me think about whether something is going to get me closer to my goal. If it didn’t get me closer, then I wouldn’t do it.
That being said, I realize I only get one life so fun will have to happen on a fairly regular occasion. Like this past weekend I had a few friends who were celebrating their birthday’s, and I hadn’t had a drink in a couple months but I kicked back with some bourbon on Friday, then some cognac on Saturday. Sunday morning reminded me why I hadn’t drank in 2 months. Nonetheless they were fun nights and it’s just as important to enjoy those times as it is to stay strict to your diet.
Your success or failure will rely on your little decisions as much as it will on your big ones. Are you going to munch on some cookies or carrots? Are you going to follow a good routine or just wing it every time you get to the gym? Save your “bad decisions” for meaningful moments.
“At the end of the day all we’re going to have is memories., so we better go out and make some.”
You’re not going to remember the cookie you ate, all it’s going to do is hold you over for a few minutes then you’ll be left with the regret of doing something counterproductive. But you’ll remember your girlfriend’s birthday and the great night you had, or the big dinner you had with a bunch of buddies. Don’t waste the counterproductive things on the small stuff, save it for the things you’ll remember.
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How would this question help you reach your goals?
