Revisited: " The Importance of Being Objective " By Charlotte Quillen

The Importance of Being Objective

                It’s something we learn to do early in life, a defense mechanism if you will; make excuses so that we feel better about ourselves, even though deep down we know what we have done is wrong. This can be as simple as rationalizing the lie you told your mom when you were seven because you didn’t want to get in trouble, or cheating on that exam in college because your professor was a douche bag who liked to put questions on the test that weren’t on the study guide. While no one likes to get in trouble, and maybe your opinion of your professor was accurate; lying and cheating are wrong.

Some people go through their lives rationalizing their mistakes and literally lying to themselves so often that they no longer have the ability to look at themselves objectively; they believe their own lie. What do I mean by this? Well, how many people do you know that are overweight, yet will point out the obesity in others, like they just can’t believe how someone could do that to their body? Or someone who just can’t understand why they aren’t reaching their fitness goals, yet you saw them check in at the Cheesecake Factory yesterday and two days before that they went out drinking and then last week they were at the Ice cream shop? I cannot count the number of examples I have just like the two I just listed. The reality is, if you point this out you are greeted with a barrage of accusations and denials, but never with that person having taken a step back and then taking a good, long, honest looked at his or her self before reacting defensively.

See, I can talk about this because I used to be that person. I have made more mistakes than I care to admit, and I used to be the one who tried her damndest to put the blame on other people, never taking responsibility for my action, nor doing a damn thing to change them. But then my life hit rock bottom so to speak, and instead of rolling over and letting it crush me, I decided to change. I decided to take that look at myself that I had been avoiding for so long, and ever since that moment I choose to be honest with myself.

No matter what you goal is you have to be able to look at yourself objectively. You must be able to put your emotions aside, and say “what do I need to work on? “, “What am I doing wrong? “, “What can I do to change it?” Every single day you must hold yourself accountable, because no one else is going to. You have to realize, you can’t give 50%, 75% or even 90% and expect to get consistent results, see consistent progress, or reach your long term goals. It just won’t happen. You have to go in with 100% commitment, and be able to take a step back when you’re ready to blame your trainer for your lack of results and say “Am I REALLY following this 100%?” and be HONEST. 100% means you do not deviate from your meal plan at all, you push yourself in the gym (this does not mean barely breaking a sweat, using the same weights for the past 6 weeks, or missing a workout), giving 100% in cardio (this mean it should be challenging, you should sweat your ass off or you aren’t going hard enough).  If you aren’t seeing results, I guarantee your answer is right there.

At www.fitnesspoynters.com, we give you the TOOLS you need to reach your goals. We can’t transfer our motivation and dedication to you, we can’t hold your hand and be with you every second of the day to make sure you stay on track, and we can’t take responsibility for you not being successful. What we can do is support you and offer advice. We show you the path you need to take, but it’s up to you and you alone to follow it. You have to take responsibility for your own mistakes, only then can you truly appreciate your success.

Tips for remaining objective:

1. Keep detailed logs, both for your workouts and meals. Write down EVERY single thing you put in your mouth, don’t omit something your embarrassed of. For your workouts, write down the weights you used, and your rest times. If your weights are always the same, and your rest times are longer than they should be, your results will suffer. Cardio logs are important too, write down the speed, miles, and time. Make note of your exertion levels.

2. Take responsibility for you actions! If you eat something you shouldn’t have, own up to it!

3. Stop making excuses! If you say or think something along these lines, “Well, I missed my workout today BUT it wasn’t my fault because…” just stop right there because that’s an excuse.

4.  Give yourself more credit. You made the choice to start this lifestyle change, and that’s something many people don’t have the courage to do.

5. Set realistic, challenging goals. Set a goal date, and a reward. And DO NOT BACK OUT for any reason. So, you had to travel for work unexpectedly, you moved, your sister had a birthday party… refer to #3.

6. Take control of your own life. Maybe your family, friends, spouse don’t support your lifestyle change. When this happens, this is a prime example of people who are unable to look at their self objectively. They can’t support your healthy changes because then they will start to feel bad about their unhealthy choices.

Remember:

Whatever is on your plate got there because YOU said yes to it.

The struggle is 90% mental. You can do it, even if your mind is telling you that you can’t.

Motivation and dedication is a choice. You either want it or you don’t.

If it’s important to you, you will find a way, if not you’ll find an excuse.

Love yourself! Know you can do absolutely anything if you want it bad enough.

NEVER GIVE UP ON YOURSELF.

Written by:
Charlotte Quillen: Fitnesspoynters.com
http://www.bodyspace.com/beautifulgrace