Your gym commitments reveal more than you think
A lot of people think that going to the gym and working out regularly is strictly optional. They think of it as something that they can do when they have some available time in their schedule.
Here’s the problem. If you look at your gym workout and overall physical activity as strictly optional, you are cheating yourself out of a healthier and more effective life. It all boils down to our mindset.
We focus on what we must do, not what we should do
When you look at working out at the gym and becoming healthier as an option, you are looking at it as something that you should do. Here’s the problem. Most people only think they have the time and willpower to do the things that they must do.
We must pay the rent. We must pay the mortgage. We must pay the car note. We must go to work so we can have money to pay all our bills.
On the other hand, we should be reading more. We should be working out. We should be meditating or investing in a mindfulness practice to relieve stress. We should travel more often. We should talk to more interesting people. Do you see the pattern here?
If you’re like most people, you probably think that you don’t have the time, focus or energy to do the things you should be doing. You would also agree that the things you should do are precisely the things that would give your life so much meaning and purpose.
The sad reality is that we look at investing in ourselves as strictly optional. These are the things that we should do but never get around to doing.
Most gym memberships are wasted by people who don’t know how to commit
The main reason why a lot of gyms stay in business is because upwards of 90% of the people that sign up stop going after a few months. Some people stop going after a few weeks. What do gyms do? They over subscribe the amount of slots available. They know full well that 90% of people will stop going after a while.
Instead of worrying that their gym will be full of members at any one time, they can comfortably over subscribe memberships without having to worry. The sad reality is that most of us head out to the gym only if we feel like it.
We play all sorts of games with ourselves. We come up with all sorts of excuses not to go to the gym. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it.
THE SOLUTION?
Focus on going to the gym regularly to unleash the very best version of yourself. Stop looking at the gym as something that just helps you lose weight or look good in front of a mirror. Instead, look at the things that you do in the gym as a series of strategic investments in yourself.
Look at your gym work out as the gateway you need to go through to unlock the very best version of yourself. What exactly do you gain by going to the gym more regularly?
First, you are able to focus. This is a big deal. If you want to achieve any kind of success in life, you need to learn how to decide on something and focus on it until it’s done.
Next, you are able to commit. When you go to the gym day after day, week after week, month after month, you are able to do something no matter how aches and pains you’re feeling. It doesn’t matter how inconvenient it is. It doesn’t matter whether you think you have the time or not.
Your feelings surely don’t matter. When you learn how to commit, you will stick to something no matter what. This is a crucial personal trait because you will have to learn how to commit to your relationships, to your career as well as to your personal choices.
This leads to higher and higher levels of discipline. When you go to the gym regularly, you develop iron discipline and self control. You probably don’t need me to remind you of just how crucial this is to any kind of success in your life.
Whether we’re talking about your career, your business, your school life or your relationships, the more disciplined you are and the more you can control yourself, the better your life becomes.
Make the proper investment today
By simply going to the gym on a regular basis, you are able to unleash a tremendous amount of benefits that apply in all areas of your life. You will be able to commit to family and friends. Let’s be honest here for a second. It takes patience to deal with family and friends.
Maybe you have a parent that you have problems with. Maybe you have a brother or a sister that always clashes with you. You have to hold your tongue. You have to be the adult in the relationship. In many cases, you have to wait for them to mature.
When you go to the gym regularly, you build the kind of discipline that would enable you to control yourself so your relationships can mature.
Explode your business
By going to the gym regularly, you can develop the discipline and self control you may need to build your business the right way. Make no mistake. Starting a successful business takes time. It’s not a simple short trip from point A to point B. You have to plant seeds, you have to overcome setbacks and you have to solve problems as they arise.
All of these require discipline and focus. They definitely require you to spot opportunities and wait for greater opportunities to appear. All of these require patience and endurance. These are precisely the traits you pick up when you go to the gym regularly.
Investing your physical work outs also improves your mind
When you go to the gym no matter how much your muscles ache, you become mentally tough. You stop looking at your physical activities as solely dependent on your emotional state. You’re able to stick to something regardless of how you feel about it.
You just do it out of commitment. You are able to override your need for shortcuts or your need for pleasure so you can go through a lot of trials and yes, even pain. When you do this consistently, you develop your ability to set long term goals and sacrifice what you need to to achieve those goals.
Working out at the gym enables you to take your spiritual health to the next level
Becoming a more holistic and complete person requires commitment. When you go to the gym regularly, you are able to develop the discipline you need to be a more self sacrificing person. Like water dripping on a hard rock, eventually, your commitment will produce results.
You become a more mature person, you’re able to see the big picture and you’re able to separate your emotions from your logic. In other words, you become and adult on so many levels. All of these require commitment, discipline and willpower.
These are precisely the things that you build up when you work out on a regular basis.
The bottom line
Going to the gym is not just about investing in your physical health. When you go to the gym on a regular basis, you actually work on your complete persona. You become a more disciplined, effective and powerful person emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.
Look at regular exercise and a healthier overall lifestyle as strategic investment in becoming the person you were destined to be.
