It’s too hard, but is it really?

Recently in my group fitness classes we did a plank challenge.

The challenge was to hold a plank starting one week at one minute and adding an additional 30 seconds each week.

When I first said we were going to do the plank challenge I got a lot of eye rolls and groans. Yet, I’ve got a hardy group of over 50 and beyond participants so they went along with me.

One woman said she couldn’t do it for one minute because it was too hard. So, no problem, hold it for as long as you feel you can.

Which by the way was one minute. Then she proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t really too hard.

Things are not really that hard.

If we are what we think about then what we say is even more impactful.

My fitness participant, who told me she couldn’t hold plank realized that she could and that it wasn’t that hard.

See, she had told herself and then she told me and the rest of the room what she couldn’t do.

And what I teach is to ask yourself “what can I do?” and go from there. I’m a trainer, not a torturer (though I’m sure if you asked some of the members of my group they may tell you otherwise). I set them up for success.

I knew the response I’d get when I told them about our challenge, and I also knew what would happen along the way. That they would learn that things (not only the planks) aren’t really that hard. It’s just how we think and talk about them that can make them seem hard.

What can I do?

We are always telling ourselves stories and usually they are negative. Things such as: “I can’t do that because it’s hard”. Or “I’ve never done that before so I’ll never be able to do it.”

Notice the language. All negative I can’t, it’s hard, I’ve never, I’ll never be. One of the things I know is that in order to succeed in anything, big or small is to change the story you tell yourself and others.

When setting my group up for their planks, I always tell them that this is something that we always do. I remind that they have been doing this for a long time. And I give them permission to take a break when they need to, which means they need to listen to themselves. And I remind them to ask themselves “what can I do”.

And you know what? Everything single one of my group by the end of a month’s time did a complete plank for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

The best is yet to come.

The best part of it all was when one of my ladies who can often give me the “you have got to be kidding look” said to me “That was easy”. I nearly fell over. I had to ask her to repeat it.

By the way we had already done a good back/shoulder/arm workout which I did purposely to exhaust their muscles at the beginning of the class. She was astounded that after doing the arm work she could still do the plank for the whole time.

When you challenge yourself, when you stretch outside of your comfort zone both physically and mentally you grow in ways that you couldn’t even imagine.

So in order to be the best you can be, ask yourself “what can I do” and then just do it.

Looking for more?

I’m always happy to help others who are looking for more in their lives. If that is you, set up a free session with me!

Fear, it is said to be false evidence appearing real.

Or another way to look at it is something you have made up.

Does that feel radical to you? Pretty much everything you may be afraid of you are making up.

Stay with me. Let’s say you want to start a business but you know someone who’s business just closed and so you are fearful that your business may close too. Just because something happened to someone else, doesn’t mean it is going to happen to you.

Same story with just because something happened to you in the past, doesn’t mean it will happen to you again.

Using stories to keep us from reaching our potential.

I work with a lot of business owners who also want to have a great life. They want to have great relationships with their family, be healthy and fit  and they want to be able to do what they want in their personal lives.

Do you know that the number one thing that comes up for just about all of my clients is they are afraid that they won’t be able to reach their goals.

They tell themselves stories. Stories that end with “I won’t be able to do that because…” The because is open ended since there are many reasons (ahem, excuses) that they use.

Ultimately though, it is a story that they have created or worse, bought into that keeps them in fear and from reaching their potential.

It’s time to tell a different story.

Here is an exercise that I do with my clients. We play the “what if” game. We keep asking “what if…” questions. Questions such as “what if you were able to create the business of your dreams?” “What if you were able to live the life you want for yourself?” “What if you could have…?” By doing so, they begin to see how a different story (or looking at things differently) can help them get to where they want to go.

Look, it’s super easy for us to be negative, to take the easy way out and to make tons of excuses (showing up a “reasons”) for why we haven’t realized our dreams. Our brains are actually wired that way!

What if…

Your turn, what if you were to go through the “what if” exercise and keep asking yourself questions until you could see yourself different, your business differently? What if you were able to notice where you were holding yourself back from realizing your dreams, heck, from even beginning your dreams? Would you do it?

I challenge you to take at least 15 minutes (though it won’t take you long to realize you are beginning to think differently) and take yourself through some “what if” scenarios. You can even have someone do it with you. Have them just keep asking you “what if…”

Need help?

Would you like someone to help you with your “what if…” exercise? If yes, I’d be happy to be that someone for you.  Set up a free session with me and we’ll go through the exercise. I promise you’ll walk away seeing things differently and you’ll be on your way to realizing your dreams!