A great body and beaming confidence. The complete transformation. The total makeover. Who wouldn’t want to look great and feel even better if it were as simple as dreaming about it? But behind all the vivid imagery lies the real work that must be done. Wishing won’t make it a reality, and there’s a battle to win over negative emotions and beliefs that can make the transformation unattainable.

Half of new gym members completely give up going to the gym within six months of joining.* They lose their will and stand pat as established habits and a lack of conviction reassert themselves and bury their dreams. Often times, a person’s deeply held self-image simply doesn’t allow them to truly buy in. The gap between where they are and where they want to go overwhelms them. And that’s why there’s a place for thinking small when it comes to getting fit.

One of the most effective mind control tactics to use on oneself is to break a big transformation down into small, repeatable actions. Day by day, those actions will form the basis of new habits that lead progressively closer to the goal. However, it works even better when those repeatable actions are linked to milestones. Milestones are simply little checkpoints, and every milestone a person reaches builds their confidence and resilience. Perhaps you already know all of this, but are you in the habit of doing it? Do you have a written list of milestones for your fitness that you’re working on achieving?

Building muscle and getting healthier don’t happen overnight. As long as you stick with it, changes will take place, but it helps tremendously to set milestones for your workout regimen so you stay motivated to keep going. It’s no use trying to lose 50 pounds in a week. Keep your milestones modest and frequent. Just focus on losing the first 3 pounds and then go after the next milestone. The point is to break the mountain you’re trying to climb down into stones you can get a handle on. Every rep you perform is a pebble, and all you need to do is keep repping.

Sayonara until next time.

*Source: 51 Gym Membership Statistics: 2020/2021 Data, Trends & Predictions, comparecamp.com