It’s the start of 2025 and you’re probably already tired of the resolutions, motivational speeches, and sales pitches for the product that’s going to make this year “different.” Instead, let me tell you a story that hopefully helps you understand what really goes into putting yourself in a position to truly make a change.
I’ve personally never been big on waiting for an arbitrary date to make a change. The difference between December 31st and January 1st is no different than any transition from one day to the next. This doesn’t mean I don’t believe in using specific moments to create catalysts. I do, but I think those days should have true meaning and not just be arbitrary days on the calendar. As significant as New Years is in our culture, it’s still just another day.
Some time around 2018, I got completely burned out running gyms and decided that when my lease expired on my gym, I wasn’t going to renew it. For me, this was a much more significant day to make a change than any holiday, because it had a real world impact on my finances and future obligations for how I would spend the majority of my time. Also, once the gym was closed, I would have no other income and I would be forced to build up my online client base or shift to another form of work to make money.
Basically, I put myself in a position where there was no choice other than to commit to a new direction.
This is the main hurdle we all face when we start considering changes and looking at goals we would like to achieve. We either perceive, or have in reality, too many options and too many safety nets, and this turns into too many distractions.
If you have a goal you’d like to achieve, you need to be clear about what it is and what it isn’t. From there, you can adjust your life around that goal to eliminate distractions and make it more natural to prioritize the things that move you closer to achieving it.
Some good ways to start getting hyper-focused are to hire a coach for a full year, unfollow all the other fitness accounts on your social media, and commit 100% to following your coach’s tutelage. That’s right! And if you choose to hire someone besides me, unfollow me, commit to their program, and commit to yourself in the most serious way if you want your best results.
After the 12 months, you can take a break or hire a new coach if you choose. Whatever you decide, avoid information overload and distraction in the early stages (yes, the entire first year of anything new is still the early stages!). After a full year of committed learning and training, you’ll be so far ahead of where you started that you won’t recognize yourself. From there, you’ll be able to choose the next stage of your journey with true knowledge of what it takes to really make your dreams a reality.
