I don’t know about you all, but I love Ted Lasso.

In the episode Ryan and I were watching last night, he talked about people underestimating him his entire life.

And how he didn’t understand it, but then saw a quote by Walt Whitman “Be curious not judgmental.”

After seeing that quote, he realized that everyone was judging and no one was curious and that is why they constantly underestimated him.

I won’t spoil the outcome of the scene for those of you who haven’t seen it.

But that whole scene I thought was so powerful for so many reasons.

Too often we hold ourselves back in our lives because we AREN’T curious.

We simply judge.

We judge people and situations over wondering why they are occurring.

I so often even see it in the troll comments I get.

In the way people only accept one “right way” of doing a move or of approaching nutrition.

They aren’t curious, they WANT to judge.

And because of that, they’ll always stay stuck.

We need to be open to opportunities if we want to grow and improve.

We need to even recognize that often we are looking at things from only our own perspective and being open to other viewpoints can actually help us get results faster.

We need to realize that one size doesn’t fit all and by not allowing others to find their own way we hold them back.

So much of life operates on a continuum and we need to recognize that.

However, I also know that even if we aren’t trying to, each of us can fall victim to judging over being curious.

It’s why now I so push clients and my trainers to seek out new perspectives and find the opportunities in them.

When COULD something work over just writing it off?

Because it is easy to get stuck looking at things from only one way.

So how can you keep yourself being curious?

#1: Consciously seek out other viewpoints and find why they are RIGHT.

Honestly, I’m not a vegetarian, but I can make an argument for being one.

I’m not Keto. Or Paleo.

I don’t believe in only doing steady state endurance cardio, and dislike Overhead Kettlebell Swings.

BUT if you asked me to list out why someone may do it, or the benefits, I can tell you.

It’s not that we won’t get our opinions and decide things aren’t the best way or the right way for us, but we have to remind ourselves that what works for us isn’t the only way.

By consciously putting ourselves in that uncomfortable position and trying to even argue for them, I think we can learn so much more even about our needs or ways to create hybrid routines that ultimately work even better!

And as trainer, we can find ways to reach clients where our “go-to” options don’t work!

#2: Pause to ask why.

I genuinely want to help everyone.

And when I first started online, it did take some getting used to the trolling.

It would hurt when someone critiqued something when I was only trying to help.

But I began to ask why.

Not only asking WHY to see their perspective, but also to help someone else reading the comment.

How could I support someone else who that comment may offend or who may have had someone troll them in that way.

And how could I then even potentially reach the person doing it to change their perspective.

But it required pausing my brain from reacting immediately and asking WHY?

Why is this being said?

I think in this day and age of immediate responses and instant gratification, that can be a challenge, but we need to push ourselves to pause in our responses and reactions whenever possible to assess.

I think it so often gives us a much needed perspective on things not only to help others, but to really be true to who and what we are.

#3: Experiment

The best results come from experimentation. Sure we need to have a set plan and when we find the foundation that works for us, we stick with it.

But I can tell you so much of what works is just overall systems.

I do 3 days a week of training and see results. I do 6 and also benefit.

We can choose variety over time even based on changes in our lifestyle.

But part of what I think keeps us open IS that willingness to experiment and slightly forcing ourselves to be in uncomfortable situations that challenge us.

So if you have a goal, and especially one you haven’t hit before, be willing and excited to experiment even if it doesn’t work.

Or if you haven’t tried a hobby before?

Embrace the learning process!

Honestly give the plan or new classes or lessons a try and track to see what does and doesn’t work.

Look for the opportunity in this learning experience and realize it also allows us again to see other perspectives!

SUMMARY:

Be curious.

The more you are and open to even hard different perspectives, often the more successful we will be in our own lives.

See the opportunity in things even when it requires you to pause to stop your innate reaction and be a bit uncomfortable!

Curious about Redefining Strength’s programs? Click to learn more about how we can help!

I’d love to tell you there was a way to be happy 24/7.

But that’s just not the reality of being human.

Negative emotions are a part of life and a VALUABLE part at that.

I think too often we just try to avoid or ignore them, but they are going to be there regardless.

And actually often the more we “fight them” over owning up to them, the more they hold us back and drag us down.

I saw a great equation that was suffering = pain x resistance

And the point of it was the more we resist the negative emotion over embracing it and recognizing it, the more we actually suffer.

So how can you start to recognize negative emotions as a good thing?

#1: Recognize they’re normal. That you’re GOING to have them no matter how freaking amazing your life is.

Life is going to be full of ups and downs.

And honestly, you can only truly know the good by having experienced the bad.

I love the mindset even of setbacks can only happen BECAUSE there has been progress.

Negative feeling and emotions are part of life and they can even be a key component to helping us move forward and be happier long-term.

They can help us see when situations in our life and circumstances are off. They can help us realize a change is needed for us to truly move forward and be happier.

#2: Don’t just bury the seed. (Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away)

I think often we try to just ignore negative emotions and feelings. We even try to stamp them down to not have to deal with them.

The thing is that doesn’t truly get rid of them.

Often the more we ignore those emotions, the more they come back to bite us later.

It’s like burying a seed…it’s not gone…it’s actually going to GROW INTO SOMETHING MORE.

The question is, what is it going to grow into?

You want to control what comes of those negative emotions.

So just burying them hoping they grow into something good, or maybe don’t grow at all, is a recipe for disaster.

Instead you want to tend to those seeds and groom them to grow into something positive.

Face what is going on. It gives you control to shape how it impacts you in the future.

#3: See them as a learning experience – Assess and learn!

Negative emotions are showing us things we aren’t happy with. Things we are uncomfortable with. Situations we’d like to avoid in the future.

Experiencing those negative emotions can be a powerful learning tool so we don’t repeat the things that lead to those negative feelings.

Of course we don’t want to fear those negative emotions so much we don’t take risks, BUT we do always want to assess what we can learn from those situations to help yourselves avoid those negative feelings in the future…and even make them POSITIVE experience.

And not only can these negative emotions help us learn to create better outcomes for ourselves in the future, but they can also teach us to better embrace situations and CHOOSE how we perceive and use them.

Stuff is going to happen outside of our control. We just need to recognize we have a choice in how we perceive things.

So if you’ve always taken a negative perspective, maybe it’s time to even see if you can see the situation as an opportunity over an obstacle.

But don’t let negative emotions lead to simply avoidance. Assess the situation. Learn from and even recognize if it is simply the downside to another upside.

Because sometimes the negatives are part of getting something new and good!

Things in our life are going to happen. Things outside of our control.

There’s no denying that.

But we also have to stop blaming these events for our successes or our failures and realize that ultimately we are in control.

And this is actually a good thing.

Yes, it stinks accepting full control because it also means you’re responsible for your failures, BUT it also gives you the power to make a change at any time.

While we can’t control everything that happens in our life, we can control our perspective and how we respond ultimately to events.

We have to realize that we always have a CHOICE in what path we take.

And this responsibility and power can be scary.

It means we ultimately get the blame whether things work out or they don’t.

But that acknowledgement of our own control of the ultimate outcome is key if we truly want amazing results.

If we don’t believe we are in control of things, if we don’t believe we have a choice in the matter, we are constantly relying on outside things.

It means we can never really move forward on our own. It also means we never have to accept responsibility, to some extent, for our failures.

But the more we CHOOSE to accept control, the more we can ultimately steer our own car and head in the right direction even more quickly.

Recognizing that you have a CHOICE in how you perceive things can help you see even failures and setbacks as a learning experience.

Life is going to happen, but we can ultimately let those situations derail us because we couldn’t stop them from happening, OR we could choose to control our perspective and learn from the events and find opportunity in the new situation.

Whether something happens or not isn’t really what matters. What matters again is the choice we make in how we use those events to make or break us.

We have the CHOICE each and every day to believe we will be conquered by an event or that we will conquer any situation that comes our way.

I know it’s cliche but there is that oh so true line of “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right.”

But we have the CHOICE to believe, or not believe, in ourselves.

No one can make that decision for us.

Just like we have to make the CHOICE to be motivated. To want to move forward. To take action.

Our mindset is of our own making.

No amount of outside belief in us, or pushing, can force us to move forward. We have to make the decision to believe in ourselves and take action.

We have to make the CHOICE to go against what is instinctual and natural to make a change. We have to CHOOSE to step outside our own comfort zone.

Basically we have to recognize that so much of our success or failure is based on the mindset and actions we choose to take.

As scary as it is to take responsibility, the simple fact is, ultimately we are in control. And that, through our choices, we can improve our life, our results, at any time.

Embrace the power that mindset brings with it.

Today make one small decision to move you forward. Realize you can CHOOSE to succeed.

So make that your CHOICE and move forward!

Are there changes that happen as we get older?

100%!

But so often we blame our age for things within our power to change.

We also blame our age for issues we’ve ALLOWED to actually build up over time.

Improper dieting practices. A lack of a proper warm up….

Things we thought we could get away with when we were younger. That we thought “worked?”

Well…let’s put it this way….just because we could get results at the time, workout without warming up without any immediate consequences doesn’t mean we SHOULD HAVE.

And it’s also a big part of why we’re now “feeling our age.”

But because this is something we’ve…well…sort of done to ourselves…it also means we have the power to change it.

So how can you avoid feeling old? How can you control what you can control to stay lean and strong to your final day on this planet?

Here are 5 tips to help…that we need to try to teach people at younger and younger ages!

#1: Suck it up and learn about macros.

I know I sound like a broken record, but so often our desire to avoid learning about the fundamentals of nutrition catches up with us.

We may get away with slashing our calories super low when we’re younger or even out exercising our diet.

But as it becomes harder to build and retain lean muscle and metabolic adaptations can add up (both from menopause, muscle loss and previous improper dieting practices) we can’t just keep restricting further to see results.

By learning about macros we can actually help retrain our body to eat more, fuel for muscle growth AND achieve some stellar body recomposition.

Learning about macros gives us control to adjust as our needs and goals are constantly evolving. 

#2: Include PREHAB with each warm up.

I’ve heard so many people say they used to get away without warming up.

What I want to tell them often is that their “getting away with it” is actually what probably caused some of their current issues.

I used this analogy in another podcast, but it is like a leak in your ceiling. You may not notice it’s there. You may “get away” with keeping the same pipe…

But one day the leak will have added up enough your ceiling tile may collapse in.

So many injuries and issues are due to perpetual overload. And often when the injury fully shows and we can no longer push through…well that move is simply the final straw.

Start doing that mobility work daily to address common daily postural distortions and help prep your body to work correctly during your workouts.

Even just a 10 minute warm up with that full prehab process can go a long way.

#3: Stop saying you’re too old for things.

You want to know the clients that stay young forever? They’re the ones that never stop pushing themselves. 

That never shy away from challenges.

That constantly seek to progress moves.

Use it or lose it couldn’t be more true.

While yes, recovery times may change as well as even the types of training we are interested in…not to mention INJURIES may impact what we choose to do, age should never determine what we believe ourselves capable of.

At any age you can build strength, endurance and power.

It’s always about meeting yourself where you are at.

#4: Stop doing it because someone else did.

So often we don’t stop to assess our needs and goals.

We try to do something just because it worked for someone else even if it isn’t truly realistic for our lifestyle.

FOCUS ON YOU.

DO YOU!

What does your lifestyle look like and how can you create the healthiest version of that?

How can you help yourself build back in a sustainable way if you’ve been out with injury? 

How can you create a lifestyle balance that allows you to enjoy your glass of wine or dessert?

Don’t get caught up in someone else’s standards of what is healthy…focus on your needs and goals.

#5: Suck it up and go slow.

We need to get it out of our heads that results will happen overnight.

Slow results are REAL results…not just glycogen depletion and water weight being lost.

Slow results are also SUSTAINABLE results. 

We need to also realize that, the older we get, the longer we’ve potentially been doing the WRONG things. Also the longer we may have had the injury or the weight on.

And the longer we’ve been doing the wrong things? The longer it takes to correct.

As I like to tell clients, you didn’t get into your situation overnight and you’re not going to get out of it that quickly either.

The longer you’ve had the weight on, the more your body will rebel against the change.

We do not like change.

So get ready to be consistent and embrace that changes will take time!

So we’re entering the time of year that well…we often slack a bit on those healthy habits. We get busy. There are tons of work things and family events…

Let’s face it…often the holidays are when our motivation fades and often our healthy habits fall by the wayside.

But I think part of the reason why we ultimately lose progress so we feel we have to start over in the new year is because we’re holding ourselves to too high of standards.

Say whaaaat?!

Ok don’t get me wrong. I believe 100% in hard work.

But I also think we hide behind having to be all in or the “go hard or go home” attitude so much so that we end up doing NOTHING when we can’t do everything and be perfect with our implementation.

It’s why I want to prepare you for this time of year by giving you permission to do the minimum.

Yup. The minimum.

Because sometimes by simply doing as little as we can to MAINTAIN our current results we move ourselves forward.

I mean think about it this way even…

If you started the New Year even where you are NOW over, say 5lbs heavier from all of the holiday eating, wouldn’t that be better?

And on top of that, by often doing the minimum and being slightly better than we were the year before, we ultimately enter the New Year BETTER OFF than where we are currently.

Because consistency adds up.

It may not happen as fast as we’d like, but those results do snowball.

So I wanted to really highlight how you can do the minimum and still see results with these tips…

TIP #1: Focus on one nutritional habit or goal.

Ok so you may want to hit x macro ratio and x calorie count and prep everything at home and only eat super whole, natural foods….

But what if you can’t do that right now? What if it isn’t realistic?

What if you have meals you’ll be obligated to eat out at? What if you’ve never tracked before and the idea of logging feels overwhelming in and of itself?

START WITH ONE THING!

The more we break things down to make habit changes the easier they actually are to sustain long term.

And they allow us to build on them as we do enter the New Year when motivation may be higher and we have more time to implement all of the things we want.

We have to see this as a time to create habit changes that don’t require willpower to maintain because that is what makes them last.

So pick one thing.

Just track your food.

Just add one healthy food in consistently.

Just cut out one snack.

Just swap one restaurant meal for something lower in calories or higher in protein.

Just remember that because you have one cookie, you haven’t ruined the day so log it and stop.

Remember that little diet tweaks add up and you can always build off of them.

But be realistic for the time you’re in.

Even planning around holiday meals or events out with friends!

TIP #2: Consider your realistic schedule and design for that.

Ok so maybe usually you love to train 6 days a week for 1 hour per session…

If you don’t have time right now though to do that, trying to force that will be a recipe for disaster.

You’ll be inconsistent and missed training sessions will be a bit mentally demoralizing. Not to mention inconsistency leads to worse results and even puts you at a greater risk for injury.

You also may not be training everything ideally.

That’s why it’s best to honestly reflect on the time you have and design a routine, or even a plan B for that schedule.

If you only have 3 days and 30 minutes a day?

Create more full body routines with lots of compound moves. Avoid full rest periods and instead work other muscles so they can rest as you work another area.

Design for the time you have so you can get consistent!

By staying more consistent, you also maintain the habit which makes it easier to get back into the swing of things when you do have 6 days a week to train.

TIP #3: Just move forward no matter what.

There are going to be things that come up…unplanned events during the holidays that lead to skipped workouts and messed up macros.

Don’t beat yourself up.

Focus on just moving forward.

And don’t feel guilty like you’ve ruined the day.

Too often we let something lead to more, which is truly the issue.

As much as you can tweak. Hold yourself accountable. Find a minimum so you can mentally end each day on a high note even when a curveball has been thrown your way!

Maybe you end up eating out and your macros aren’t perfect? Just don’t eat extra feeling like you’ve ruined the day. Or at least pick a dish out that allows you to stay under your calories or hit your protein.

Or maybe just be proud of yourself for logging and staying accountable.

Maybe a work event means you’re drained and can’t get in your usual session. Try even just a 5 minute mobility routine to do something to move and prep your body to move well the next day!

Focus on what you CAN do to move forward. And never feel guilty. Learn from it even to see if there is a way to plan better or prepare for the situation in the future…

Like picking the restaurant or doing your workouts in the morning vs afternoon during these busier times!

TIP #4: See this time as practice.

Instead of seeing this time as you can’t do everything you want, see this time as a way to practice specific habits or PLAN for the New Year.

Write up workouts. Test out moves or training types.

Test out recipes that you can add to your food tracker so they are easy to enter when you can really dial in your ratios.

Get in the habit of logging so it feels easy as you do tweak your macros.

Try planning out options to hit your ratios.

Try meal prep. Find healthy restaurant meals to get on the go.

Use this time to work on those mobility restrictions if you can’t make it to the gym.

Find little things you can do that will only benefit you as you can really dive in 100% to your programming in the New Year!