Your Approach Is Broke

We all know the saying , “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”  Basically, it means if something is working well enough, don’t try and change it for the sake of changing it. This is a “word from the wise” for people who struggle with many things. For the purpose of this post, let’s use patience.

The reverse must also be true. “If it is broken, then fix it.” Say your light bulb goes out in your dining room. You go to home depot, and you ask for another light bulb that would replace the broken one. The salesperson on the floor suggests a series of different light bulbs for you to choose from. One is really bright, but it lasts only half the amount of time as the one you had. Another one is the exact same brand as the one you had, but it’s a little bigger because it’s meant for the recetly upgraded light fixture, so it won’t fit without purchasing an additional backing for the bulb. The last of the three he shows you is the exact same light bulb. But, because it’s an older light bulb, it would not work in your light fixture unless you wanted to pull the string to turn it on each time. In other words, it doesn’t respond to the light switch.

All three of these bulbs work perfectly, but they obviously aren’t the right fit for your light fixture. Although the man suggests great options, you would never in your right mind buy something that you know won’t fit. You’d also realize that if you did, you’d be wasting your time and your money. Chances are you would continue to search for a bulb that fits exactly what you need. You’d go from store to store even if the first or second store didn’t work out the way you planned. Interestingly enough, when dealing with ourselves (something definitely more important than light bulbs) we are so quick to listen to the information about fat loss, weight loss, muscle gain, strength gain, etc. suggested by other people about what would work for us. Because there is so much information out there that we pay attention to at the same time, we never truly find out what works for us. We try everything, fail to stick to one thing, and by the nature of how things just work, we don’t get anywhere because we become frustrated when something doesn’t work fast enough when we didn’t even give it enough of a chance to work.

There are tons of experts within the fitness industry. It’s honestly quite amazing how much these experts really know. The crazy thing is, although they are experts, they all have their own philosphy. They also all have their own specialty. Some experts favor interval training, and some favor low-intensity, long duration cardio. Some hate cardio altogether. Some other experts rely heavily on “metabolic conditioning,” circuit training  or strictly power movements to achieve results. Some rely on heavy resistance training. Other experts combine everything into one solid program. Some know shoulders, hips, knees or ankles. The thing that connects them all is their greatness. Greatness doesn’t “dibble dabble” in different methods. They’ve chosen an area that they truly believe in and they make it work for them, their clients, their overall training philosophy and their business. Truth is though, any of these methods will change anyone if they eat according to their program’s demands. They don’t work because one is better than the other (we already know everyone experiences things differently), but they work because of their consistency. They work because those involved in the program have made a commitment to that program.

Point is….. Anything that is a sound program will work if you follow it the way it’s supposed to be followed.

Let’s go back to “If it’s broken, fix it.” Let’s say you go to home depot, and the salesperson on the floor gives you the exact same light bulb. You get home and immediately put it in your light fixture. Next week, the light blows again. You go back to home depot, and you repeat this process three times. You later find out, you have a short, malfunctioning fuse. Even though the bulb is the right match, you forgot to find out “why it’s broken.” You want to change your body. You’ve found the right plan. But, what’s your inspiration? Why are you deciding to change? Are you doing it for you or for superficial reasons. If you don’t know that answer, you will not succeed long-term, guaranteed.

Things go wrong when you change your body. Sometimes you plateua. Sometimes you have to reassess your goals and change the focus of the program. Sometimes you get injured and have to modify the exercises. But, you can’t choose a program based on what may happen. If you really want to change, those “maybes” or “potential setbacks” are just part of the “bad that inevitably comes with every good.” Noone chooses a career based on what may happen, and those that do tend to be miserable. Every career has negative aspects, but your love for what you do outweights that inevitable bad.

Truth is, we’re spoiled. We want instant satisfaction. We want the perfect program. That’s why we search for even more information when we’re overwhelmed somehow thinking that getting more will solve the bundle we’re already trying to sort through. We hate responsbility. I’m talking about responsibility for our lives. We  hire people to do everything for us. This is fine and dandy if you can live that life, but what happens with the things that we can’t outsource. You can’t outsource your health. You can hire a trainer, coach, nutrition, physical therapist, etc. to provide you with a plan and a roadmap, but guess who needs to do the work? YOU!

 This is the reason why we buy into bullshit informercials. We love the promise of something new giving us something we never had. The more complicated it looks, the more we want it because for some reason, we think we can’t do it ourselves. Basic push-ups, push presses, rows, pull-ups, lunges, hip thrusts, romanian deadlifts, planks don’t do it for us. We want what looks cool. We want to squat on a bosu ball while throwing a medicine ball. We want to stand on one leg and do bi-cep curls. We also want what’s easy. That’s why we settle in our careers, relationships, friendships and health. We want pills, powders and magic vitamins. God forbid we question the medical system. We want to do the minmum required to get maximum results. We want nifty sneakers that tone our “hips, thighs and buns.” We want video games that give us a generic workout. If it’s simple and basic, we think something is wrong with it, but when we’re overwhlemed, we wish things were simpler. We live in this anticipation phase where people love to live in this sort of “what if, magic wonderland,” which is the idea behind many gambling and loterry issues. The odds are stacked against you, and people like to take a chance on something that “may” change their lives. The “waiting for the outcome” phase is so addictive because it’s out of our control while we wait for something to determine our own outcome. But, we can have a front seat view while reaching our own fitness goals, yet we want someone or something to do it for us. Sounds ass-backwards if you ask me.

I don’t know about you, but life is too short to focus on potential losses. When you focus on fat loss, you focus on anything to avoid being fat, heavy, overwight, etc. Binge eating, throwing up, over-exercising and not eating become “okay” because those things will avoid being fat, heavy, overweight, etc. Those are irrational things. Because your focus isn’t on making your life better, positive things automatically don’t come to mind and don’t ever seem logical. But, when you focus on better quality of life, you will eat any array of healthy food. You will exercise at healthy levels. You will sleep more. You will do positive things to live better. The former focuses on avoiding a loss and the latter focuses on achieveable gains. Which one sounds more reasonable to you?

My message….. Today is the day to be thankful for what you have and who you have around you. But everyone forgets to be thankful for themselves. Give yourself credit and be thankful for the chance to be alive. With all of the negative that surrounds us everyday, be thankful that you are capable of doing whatever you want to do as long as you’re willing to work for it. Realize your potential!