I've discovered some things that I can articulate as best as I can on paper for you. Some of these things people in my industry just don't want to talk about because it's not "what you do" or "everyday" life. Life, I am finding more and more as I get older, is ALL about balance. The people I find without some kind of balance in their lives come up short or failure horribly in lots of aspects of their life. That isn't all encompassing, but it is DEFINITELY a trend that I am seeing.
The Speed Limit.
The concept is simple, however the implementation and practicality of it might be lost upon some so here it goes.
Not everyone is ALWAYS going to be "on" with their nutrition plan/fitness plan/workout plan/Lifestyle change (I'll get into the "actual" lifestyle change in another blog). This means that there is going to be periods where a break might not even so much be needed, but be mandatory.
Over the summer, I was done. I'll admit it. I have been under the guidance of various coaches myself for the past 4 years, focusing a LOT on my physique and my pursuit of knowledge in my field. After my show this June (Men's physique) I got tired. I had turned down many social events, had been tracking my food almost to the point of nauseam, and was just... done.
People started asking me what I'm doing with my summer. There were tons of concerts coming up I wanted to attend, so I gave myself a speed limit. I was going to assess myself still and determine what speed I was going.
Huh?
Think of it this way. Most highways around here in Canada are 110. Let's say that's our speed limit. Let say you go to 120 (over eat/let some junk slide/don't track your food/miss some workouts). You might not get caught. Some, with a poor genetic card or haven't been at it long, might get pulled over even at 120. 130? Hmmm... starting to slide a bit more. chances of you getting pulled over are getting higher. 140? 150? You won't be able to maintain this long and you WILL get pulled over.
What I'm saying is if you don't have a HUGE goal in your sights, you have to at LEAST glance down at your speedometer to see how fast you're going. If you're blowing by cars (clothes starting to fit worse, less energy, you start changing in the mirror) it's time so SLOW DOWN. clean things back up again. I did this for July and most of august, roughly 6-7 weeks and I don't regret it at all.
WIthout always looking at the speedometer, I was able to see the things I was usually missing. The scenery. Other types of cars on the road. Listening to music more intently.
Mid august hit, and I was ready. I was EXCITED. I couldn't WAIT to get back on a plan, go in, focus on some new goals. My battery was recharged. My mind was clear. It was go time.
It's okay to look up from the Speedometer here and there. It really is. I've seen people with their head down focused so much on keeping that speed at a perfect 110 that they don't look up to see the detour signs in front of them... and inevitably crash. Don't be that person.
