We are all going through tough times. I believe whole heartedly that this will soon ligthen up, but we still need to gain as much contol over our lives as we can. Those lasy few words in that lasy sentence are the key words; "as we can". We do have the ability to build ourselves up, so that we increase our chances of gaining more life control.
It’s easy to become fearful & overwhelmed during turbulent situations, but we can minimize the damage by doing everything we can to keep ourselves strong and in top emotional and physical shape.
It is to your greatest benefit to take care of yourself, so that you gain as much control over yourself and your daily outcomes as you possibly can.
Fitness is without question, the absolute best way to gain greater control over your life and to create the greatest possible outcomes in all aspects of your life. In a nut-shell, when you exercise, you will begin to feel healthier, which will have a positive impact on both the inside and outside of your body. The spill over effects are vast and will depend on both the quantity and quality of your health & fitness routine.
You should devise a health & fitness plan that focuses on the following 4 pieces:
The more balance you bring between these four key elements, the more control you’ll have over your life!
Let me explain why & how this will work: When people first begin to exercise, they are often driven to do so, based on their current impulse goals. Most of the time, these goals are just impulsive “wants” that we desire. The good thing about “wants”, are that they at least get you going. However, “wants” don’t usually last long, because they don’t usually have enough of an emotional tie attached to them.
An example of a “want” goal is saying something like, “I want to lose weight”. It’s a nice thought, but what exactly does it mean. If you lost 1 pound of weight over the course of 1 year, you would have been successful in reaching that particular goal. Can you see why this is so
Other “want” examples could be to, improve your health, have more confidence, feel better, etc. These are all great starts, but they too are just too generalized. In other words, they need to be more specific and have greater meaning, in order to harness the power to make them a certain reality.
There are “wants” and there are also, “Whys”. “Whys” are those deep rooted reasons or rewards that you’ll receive from achieving your goals. You don’t just want to “lose weight”, you want to feel better about yourself and have people comment on how awesome you look. You need to take those emotional “Whys” and bring more specificity to your goal setting.
Instead of wanting to look better, instead try something like, “I will lose 10 pounds of fat by June 25th!” Doesn’t that fire you up much more
This is what you call super specific goal setting!
Now pay attention. The “Why” that you first chose when you began your fitness routine will probably progress to something else, something more challenging and more rewarding! You’ll want to achieve one goal at a time or you could easily become distracted with too much stuff to do.
As the weeks pass by, you will begin to look better, feel better & be better. This extends much further than just your body. You life will begin to look better, your life will begin to feel better & your life will soon begin to be better, across the board!
Now more than ever, we need to have a “Life Crisis Control Strategy”. There are way too many things going on in the world that seem way out of our control. We thankfully have the power to control certain pieces of our lives, which will lead to more positve outcomes.
For me, there is no greater tool that I have than the power of fitness. It has allowed me to build my body & my mind to unconscionable levels, relatively speaking.
I guarantee you, that if and when you make fitness a part of your daily life, your life will forever be positively changed.
I would love to hear how fitness has helped you gain greater control and benefited many of your own life experiences. I aks that you please share some of your own Life Empowerment Secrets with us all. We all have at least one or perhaps many ways that we deal with adversity. There is no better way than to stick together, support one another and even hold each other accoutable to the goals we set.
I am here to help you create a your own life plan of action AKA the Life Crisis Control Plan, so that you make the most out of these uncertain times.
Keep Going!
James Villepigue CSCS
James Villepigue, CSCS is an International Best Selling Author of over 22 books. Over the last 8 years, he has built one of the most successful fitness book franchises in history.
He has been involved in the health and fitness industries for over 17 years. With over one million copies of James’ books sold, he has helped many hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world—of all ages and from all walks of life—achieve extraordinary results to their body’s & their lives.
James is most passionate about sharing his mastery of getting people in their absolute best shape.
James has appeared on and is the Featured Fitness Trainer of “The Regis & Kelly Show" , The Maury Show and many other TV and radio shows. In addition to his books, he has written for national magazines like Fitness, Women's World, Muscle-Mag, Oxygen, Cosmopolitan, Self and Marie Claire.
James earned degrees from the New York College of Health Professions and Hofstra University, and is a graduate of the highly acclaimed Institute for Professional Empowerment Life/Business Coaching. He is Nationally Certified as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS©), under The NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association), a certified personal trainer with ACE (American Council on Exercise), ISSA (The International Sports Science Association) and the NBFE (National Board of Fitness Examiners).