00:00
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know. So let’s jump right in.

00:29

There is a downside to every upside, a cost to every reward, and the more we recognize this, the more we really empower ourselves and give ourselves the opportunity to move forward and meet ourselves where we’re at and I started thinking about this actually because I had a sweatshirt on that said Bumblebee Brain and I speak very fast. I’m trying, even right now, to speak slower, but when I get really excited, I know I speak really fast. But that fast pace is also what makes my brain work, in my opinion, in a very amazing way and make connections in a very interesting way. That is the downside to the upside. It’s something that you know. We always want to work on those flaws a little bit, but we also have to accept that they’re there and embrace them because of that. Upside right, you might have long arms like I’m good at doing pull-ups because my long arms but it impacts me negatively, potentially for all their exercises. So there’s always a good thing about ourselves, but it also comes with a cost and this is why we can see results happening very fast with specific systems, but also slowly at times, and I think the more we really own this and learn this about ourselves, like our upsides and our downsides, the more we can create systems that work for us. But I also think it’s key we address this when it comes to these systems themselves, because while we are creating something or we want to create something sustainable, this doesn’t mean that we’re going to like everything that we do in the day

01:40

Right, I’m sorry I don’t know about you, but I don’t like wicking up with alarm. I like the upside of that, of being up early enough that I can do all the things that I have to do, that you know I get a great start to my day, that I don’t miss my flight, you know all these different things, but I don’t actually like wicking up alarm. I accepted it and we don’t even necessarily think about some of those downsides, because there are so many upsides and we’re willing to embrace them or they’ve just become such a part of our systems. However, we become very, very aware of those downsides when we’re first starting a new habit. Right, all we can sometimes focus on is all the negatives of that habit instead of seeing the upsides to it. Sometimes, like even if we were counting macros and it’s, you know, tedious and boring. We have to wear food and it takes extra time and we’re not used to it and it’s annoying. With now entering the recipes and all these different things, we find all those downsides but we don’t think about the upside of. Hey, this is the daily habit. That will get easier, that will help me make sure that I’m reaching my goals and know exactly what I’m consuming, to make accurate tweaks, because in the moment we’re very caught up in those downsides.

02:32

So I think sometimes, when we’re going to create a new system, it can be really good to say, hey, here are the habits that I feel I need to reach my goals, what are the downsides to them? What are the upsides to them? And then, in assessing, you might say, hey, these downsides right now feel a little bit too painful to do. So what are some habits that have fewer downsides, or downsides that I’m more willing to embrace, sacrifices that I’m okay with right now, knowing that you can always step up slowly. That’s that habit stack right. Okay, I’m okay with adding more water because this feels easy. I’m going to put my water bottle out at different places. The downside to this is okay, yes, I have to remember to drink. Or yes, I have to drink and maybe go pee a few more times during work.

03:07

Whatever, it is right, you have some downsides to the upsides, but the upsides feel worth it, and so the pain of that or the sacrifices you have to make with that habit are easy. So you start with it. Okay, knowing the downsides and upsides, it allows us to use them. And then saying, okay, now, off of this, I’m feeling really motivated. What else can I do? And build off of that?

03:23

And you might find too that by looking at the downsides and upsides of different things, you can meet yourself where you’re at, based on your motivation, because so often we only start something when we’re super motivated and sacrifices feel way more worth it when we’re motivated right With January. You know, maybe you weren’t as good during the holidays. You have a little bit of weight on you. Your pants don’t fit right, you’re so you’re a little bit more motivated, you’re in a little bit more pain. So the pain of change is something that you’re more willing to embrace. So you make a lot more habit changes.

03:49

However, once that motivation fades, all of a sudden, work gets busy, family life gets busy, things you know shift and you don’t have that pain of staying stuck as much, maybe even seen results, and so you’re feeling a little bit better already too. Then some of the sacrifices might not feel worth it. The downsides might not feel worth it. So that point that’s a good time to reassess. Okay, what habits am I doing? How can I even change these habits so they don’t feel like as much sacrifice at times, knowing that you have to go back to the minimum? You’re not going to see just one consistent lifestyle over the entire year. You are going to see ebbs and flows. It’s why I love having people stay and like coaching for a little bit longer, even when they’re maintaining their results, because a lot of times what we don’t realize is how much our lifestyle really does shift over the year.

04:28

There are times that shifts over the year and those shifts are something that we don’t often address and it comes down to, again the upsides and downsides to every habit, even habits we’ve done for a really long time. That times we don’t even notice the downsides too, just because they’re so a part of it. Like I mean, if you think about working out, the downside is you’re taking that hour to potentially work out, that 30 minutes to work out, maybe you have to do more laundry for your workout clothes because you’re sweating through more clothes. Like it can seem silly some of the downsides, but those can also have an impact depending on what other priorities we have going on. And so the more we can assess every habit, the downsides and the upsides, and then even where our head is that motivation wise, who we are, again our personal downsides and upsides to see where they match with the habits. Right, because we do have different priorities in our life. We do have different strengths.

05:11

Some of us might embrace, you know, having to have a schedule a little bit more than others, because that’s part of our, you know, type A-ness, versus if you’re more type B, that might be more of a challenge. So trying to fit in the workout in a consistent way is harder, right? So there’s different downsides and upsides to our own habits and to our own personality. But the more we take time to step back and really weigh them, the more we can meet ourselves we’re at and then even adjust based on how motivation, based on how lifestyle changes happen over the course of a year. So stop ignoring that there are negatives. Stop, you know, trying to run from them, own them and really work around them and plan around them and plan for them as much as you can, because it’s going to help you see better results.

05:50

Thanks for listening to the podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know.