Most folks dread change. Change at work, change in the home schedule, changes in how family members interact with each other. Change is a deviation of the norm, a change in the comfort level that many of us base our lives around. Change effects out schedule and our routines. It can cause stress, pressure as well as external and internal hostility.
For some, change is the key excuse they focus on to stop a fat loss / workout behavior. “Well, I am traveling.. I can’t workout”. “Or, I am staying in a hotel for business, going out with co workers, I can’t say on my eating plan.” Any of this sound familiar?
Through my weightloss journey and emotional awakening, I found several interesting notions that came around the idea if change. It boiled down to two types of people, those that are athletes, or those people who chose to workout or train as an athletes, and those that are not.
Those that didn’t or do not associate themselves as an athlete looked at change as a barrier, a thunderstorm that should be avoided at all costs. I often hear comments such as, why would I want to do that? Followed by a list of excuses of bad things that would happen if the change took place. “I would have to get up earlier, I would not be able to get my usual coffee, People are going to look at me funny..I wouldn’t be able to….X…Y…Z.
The folks that I talked to who associated themselves as athletes saw change differently. Why is that?
I believe it has a lot to do with how “athletes” think about themselves, as an always evolving body of work. This group saw change not as a bad thing, but yet just something else to overcome and manage. Change to the athlete mind sparks notions of getting physically faster, stronger, quicker and more mentally aware. Now, I know several athletes who don’t WELCOME the introduction of change, but at the same time, when faced with a change, they don’t run from it.
This link is a great one that talks about coaches and athletes dealing with change. (It includes addressing the various elements of change and support principles. Worth checking out!)
Knowing this, I always look at change “as an athlete”, rather than my old self. How can I adapt to overcome this new issue, problem, or obstacle? Taking the change head on and “making a game” out of it keeps me foucsed on my goals and what I need to do to achieve them and at the same time lessens the “impact” of the change.
So- When change comes at you, think like an athlete. Adapt and overcome!