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gwunspoken
We know that now more than ever, there is a growing disconnection between parents and their teens, corporates and their employees, and human interactions in general.
This can cause stress, frustration and many arguments within families and the work environment.
gwunspoken looks at the challenges people of all ages have in their relationships with one another and provides experience and advice, allowing all parties to have a voice.... and feel heard.
Join us to hear corporates, parents, educators, teens and the latest advice of how we can in fact live the life we love, in making authentic interactions, because we know... authentic connection is everything.
gwunspoken
Consistency Over Perfection: Harnessing Small Steps for Lasting Fitness and Well-being
Unlock the secret weapon in your health journey with us as we redefine the power of consistency in movement. Why chase perfection or exhaust yourself with high-intensity workouts when small, manageable steps can lead to profound changes? Through personal anecdotes, like daily walks with our spirited cattle dogs, we demonstrate how incorporating just 15 minutes of exercise into your daily routine can enhance not only your physical strength but also boost your mental resilience and emotional well-being. In a world driven by instant gratification, we challenge you to prioritise long-term rewards by building sustainable movement habits.
Join us as we navigate the art of setting achievable movement goals, inspired by motivational figures like Alan Pease and Keith Abrahams. Learn how to create a system of emotional rewards that steer clear of unhealthy treats and discover the importance of having an accountability partner. We emphasize the significance of celebrating small victories and maintaining a positive mindset, helping you cultivate self-trust and achieve overall life satisfaction. Let’s keep moving forward, together!
www.in8code.com
Welcome to another edition of GW Unspoken, where we discuss stuff we don't typically talk about but probably should. We're talking about the power of consistency of movement, season 7, episode 4, and halfway through the season of movement. Here today, let's talk about why it's important that movement lasts and consistency is so important over perfection. You know, have you ever noticed how people start off their New Year's fitness goals and then they quit by February? Well, here's the secret they're missing Consistency beats intensity every single time, and today we're exploring how to stick with movement for the long haul. Even Netflix is calling louder than your sneakers.
Speaker 1:So you know, consistency is the backbone of every success story, every single one. You can hear so many people's journeys athletes' journey, recovery journeys. It's about consistency. And whether you want to feel stronger, sleep better or just stop groaning when you bend down to tie your shoes, small, regular steps are the key. So look, we've all had those days. We've had them where the couch feels like a black hole pulling us in. Life is busy, motivation fades. You leave exercise to the last part of the day and you know if anything's going to sacrifice, it's going to be your movement. And next thing you know your workout gear is just sitting there and it's gathering dust and most people give up because they aim too high too soon. Well, here's a spoiler alert you don't need to climb Everest to see results. People think they need to be perfect. Climb Everest to see results. People think they need to be perfect. But perfect is the enemy of progress, and I love that little saying perfection is the enemy of progression. Consistency is not about doing it all, it's about doing something, just something, regularly, and that can be a mental trap for us. We've got to just do something regularly.
Speaker 1:So what are the benefits of consistency? I mean, there's a few. How about we start with the physical ones? We know that regular physical activity builds strength. It builds endurance and flexibility over time. Even over 15 minutes a day adds up to almost two hours a week. Have you thought about that? At the moment we're running two little cattle dogs here. They're absolutely crazy, love them to bits, but they are nuts in a small block of land here. So I'll do 20-minute exercise a day with them. We'll run them. Wednesday is the walk day and it's a bit of a cheat day, but we sort of walked the dogs and it's a 40-minute workout, not a 20-minute workout, but it's recovery for myself, but also gives the dogs to run around and annoy me by picking up sticks and empty Macca's containers on the side of the road just to be annoying. But it all adds up. It all adds up. It gives my body a break. All right, how about? Mentally, all right. Consistency creates momentum and once you start, your brain loves momentum, your brain loves routine, it loves habit, and then it'll actually start craving the fewer endorphins.
Speaker 1:I want to go back a little bit here. You think about how our society's changed a lot and, yes, I'm going to get on the technology train again here, the anti-technology train. We talk about improving our dopamine, improving our excitement to do things and the endorphins we get when the serotonin hits us, the dopamine level where you feel good after you've achieved something. Well, this is a problem. This is why a lot of us are getting overweight and sedentary behaviors as a real killer, a silent killer. It's because a lot of us are just looking for the instant gratification. If I could sit down now and watch an exciting movie or play a video game, I'm going to sit there and sit and not move and get excited. That dopamine is going to give me that rush.
Speaker 1:I know physically it's not going to sit there and sit and not move and get excited that dopamine is going to give me that rush. I know physically it's not going to be good for me, but it's instantaneous. I can get that within two minutes of a game, maybe less. I can probably have that with a sugary lolly. But if I want to feel the endorphins that come from finishing exercise, that's hard work. The exercise is hard work. I have to get off my butt, put my shoes on, battle the heat battle whatever my mindset, battle my lack of fitness. It's hard, it's actually physically taxing to train but at the end those feel-good hormones will come through. But I have to go through the pain to get to that. You know, and I think this instant gratification, the world of instant gratification, is killing us in that way. So if brain loves routine, can we get ourselves into a routine of exercise, knowing that it's also going to physically be good for us and probably make us better, for our clarity and our mindset, but also the way we deal with people, because we're going to feel better rather than be confused or angry or frustrated once before we get off the game. You know, and emotionally I guess you're going to feel proud of yourself too for showing up even on those hard days. You know, self-trust spills over into other areas of your life as well, so you'll actually tick off those wins. So how do we build that habit? You know, make it easy. Put your workout shoes by the door or schedule movement into your calendar.
Speaker 1:I was talking to some people the other day, like some of the kids are saying I want to start moving, sir, because I know I need to, but I just can't get the motivation. And I think I talked about this before. But I went to a seminar with Michelle Bridges of Biggest Loser, and I remember she said she just puts her clothes right beside her bed the night before, so even shoes, socks, underwear, whatever it might be, training gear. And when she wakes up and the alarm goes off and she goes to push the snooze button and goes oh, you know, when we make excuses, oh, I don't feel like it, or my body's saying I'm tired, that's a sign I need to have more sleep, all these excuses go to our brain, because our brain looks for ways to actually, you know, conserve itself and conserve energy. She'll look at that and go oh, eventually the guilt will make her get up, and so that's what she's done. She's made that little thing where she feels guilty if she doesn't get up, all right, and once she gets going, after the first couple of minutes she said she's fine, she's into it, but those first five minutes getting ready is the worst, you know.
Speaker 1:So have it ready or put it into account or schedule it in your calendar. Schedule it. Don't make it the last thing of your day where you go. If I get time, because you know what will happen, then Some people need to start ridiculously small. So you're going to run a marathon eventually or swim I don't know 5K, 2ks, start by walking or swimming really small. If you're going to be a runner, walk around the block, build up from there. Some people go I'm going to get the next light bulb. I'm going to get the next light bulb and when you get to that light bulb, test yourself. I'm going to get the next one and then reward yourself.
Speaker 1:Celebrate the consistency, not perfection. Even if it's just a gold star on your calendar, it works. Just reward yourself because we're emotional beings. You have an emotional response to a goal. It's going to make you want to do that again. You know it's like sometimes we see teachers and self-entropy. You know just all we do is bag, bag, bag and say no, no, no, stop, stop, stop. Change it around. Celebrate consistency. Celebrate that people aren't perfectionists. We're not. As adults we're not. So turn it around. Be positive towards people. People will look for that. They'll crave that.
Speaker 1:You know, I once set a goal to do yoga every morning at 6 am. Guess what happened? I ended up doing the corpse pose in bed, like it just didn't work. It didn't work. It wasn't for me, that wasn't for me. So again, I started doing those rolling, all those stretching at night when the kids were in bed. I had like 20 minutes just to decompress for the day, you know.
Speaker 1:So have some consistency. How are you going out there? When I'm talking to you? This is for you, because I've got my own battles in my life to keep that consistency happening. How are you going with yours? If you actually sat there now or wherever you are now, you know, ironically you might actually be exercising. But if you actually listen to this and thinking, okay, how is this really affecting me? What's in it for me? Because we want these podcasts to be about you. How are you going with it? Are you getting consistency there? Are you going back to the last episode? Are you over-training? Are you not being able to get off the couch?
Speaker 1:Here's some little tips and tricks. How about you create a movement ritual? You look forward to have a stretch while you're having your morning coffee. It sounds crazy. It sounds crazy, but small little things can trick our minds. Can you find an accountability buddy who will check in and remind you why you started? My mother likes training with somebody in the early parts of the morning 4.30, 4.45, she starts walking because she likes that accountability. It makes them both buy into each other and say we must have to turn up for each other. What about even just a check-in with a text or a phone call? I know a mate who helped me set up the business. He did that with a mate when they were doing a challenge Text write what you're doing for breakfast. Write what you're doing for the day for training. Tell me in the afternoon that he did your second workout, everything that accountability sometimes works, and how many of you forgive yourself if you miss a day.
Speaker 1:We're often very easy to pick on ourselves when we try something new. Oh, I failed again. I knew this wouldn't work for me. I knew I couldn't handle it. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep going. Forget that Everyone can miss a day. We all stuff up. Just pick yourself up where you left off and keep going.
Speaker 1:Remember consistency isn't about just doing it perfectly. It's about doing it enough that maybe one day your dog starts stretching when they think because it's a new game for them. Try and have some fun with it. Try and move. Don't be angry at yourself. Just keep trying and keep moving forward. Keep consistency happening.
Speaker 1:So here's some ideas for your journal. What's one small consistent movement goal you could set for this week? Write it down. Remember, goals only work.
Speaker 1:You talk about Alan Pease on the best goal setter ever. He talked about things about communication and that kind of stuff, but he just also said writing goals down can help. Keith Abrahams was massive around that Google. Keith Abrahams just a freak. He talks about goal setting all the time. He's really big on that emotional response when you do something, reward yourself.
Speaker 1:So what's one small consistent movement goal you can set for the week? And number two in talking about that, what's the reward you can give yourself for sticking to that movement routine? Try not to say you know some junk food, but what's the reward you can do? Reward yourself. Number three who could you ask to be your accountability partner, and how will they help you stay consistent? Can they be the you ask to be your accountability partner, and how will they help you stay consistent? Can they be the right person to be your mentor or just be there for you to say well done, champion legend, good work, thumbs up emoji whatever it might be, but I think it's really important that consistency is the key. Don't be hard on yourself. Have accountability and reward those wins. Thank you for joining us on GW Unspoken.