Have you ever set out to start something new or accomplish a goal, only to end up putting it off, or never getting started at all?
Years ago, I remember working a corporate job and being wildly unhappy. I sat at a desk all day, gained a bunch of weight and had the energy of a potato. And, knowing deep down that this wasn’t the life I wanted for myself, I kept setting goals to do something about it.
But every time I’d attempt to start, the same thought would creep into my head: ‘What difference does it make?’
In regard to my fitness or nutrition, I knew that nothing I was going to do that day would make any difference toward my goal of losing weight. No amount of squats, deadlifts or burpees was going to get me fit today. And whether I ate a salad — or didn’t eat at all — I wasn’t going to magically drop some pounds and regain my energy.
Moving the Dirt.
Even thought it's true that measurable change does not happen in one day, I was overlooking the one incredible thing that comes from "day one."
I was beginning to move the dirt.
Someone once told me that your fitness journey is a lot like moving a pile of dirt. Some days, you have a shovel. Some days, you have a spoon. But every day that you show up, you’re moving the dirt.
So imagine a gigantic pile of dirt sitting in front of you. On that first day, you show up. (If you're like me, I was so overweight and exhausted that all I had was a spoon on that first day.) You start by moving a spoonful of dirt.
On day one, when you look at the giant pile, you can’t even see where that spoonful of dirt came from. And when you look around on the ground for where you dumped the spoonful, you can barely find it.
So you have two choices: First, you can launch that stupid spoon, say screw it, and go back to your normal life. Or you can show up again tomorrow and move another spoonful of dirt.
Because guess what? After a week, I bet you’ll start to see a tiny new pile of dirt start to form. And after a month, you’ve got a bigger spoon and you’re able to see more progress. Six months later, imagine how much dirt you’ve moved. And a year from now, that first pile of dirt isn’t the mountain it used to be.
In more fun, non-dirt terms, think about that first week when you have even just a bit more energy than you’ve had in years. After a month, you’ve created a habit and you can feel yourself getting stronger. Six months in, your clothes start to fit better. A year down the road, your friends and family are all wondering what you’ve been doing.
Don’t tell them you’ve been moving dirt. They’ll have questions.
But… I Want it Now.
We live in an instant-gratification world. If a video takes more than a couple seconds to load on our phone, we get annoyed. If the light turns green and the car in front of us doesn’t go immediately, we fight the urge to lay on the horn.
If we’re really honest, we all have a little Veruca Salt in us. Some of us have a lot. You remember Veruca from Willy Wonka, right?
She coined the phrase, “I don’t care how. I want it now.”
Unfortunately, instant gratification is impossible when it comes to fitness and nutrition. As I mentioned in my overweight lamentations above, I knew that nothing I could do in one day would instantly gratify me.
So, as a very wise person recently told me, “Delayed gratification is also called dedication.” You either want something badly enough to dedicate yourself to achieving it, or you don’t.
But here’s the thing: That dedication is what changes your mindset from ‘what difference does it make’ today, to ‘this is going to be a process and I’m committed to it.’ It sets you up mentally and emotionally to know — and accept — that it won’t be quick or easy.
And there’s another layer. When we don’t expect it to be easy, we don’t quit when it gets hard. Because we knew it would eventually be hard.
Here’s an example:
Recently, one the gym members switched jobs, forcing her to change her workout schedule. She used to attend class at 5:30pm, but working late meant that 5:15am became her most viable option.
Here’s how it went on day one of the new schedule: Signed up for class, hit the snooze, missed class.
Day two: Repeat day one.
Day three: Samesies.
Day four: Didn’t bother to sign up. Will try again Monday.
What happened during that first week was the result of mindset and an unrealistic expectation.
When she committed to the new schedule, she saw herself popping out of bed when the alarm went off and prancing happily off to class. It was a little far-fetched because no one prances.
But she saw herself easily waking up on time, getting dressed and (perhaps even somewhat groggily) driving to the gym.
You know what she didn’t anticipate? How amazing a warm bed feels at 5am, especially when it’s cold outside. And how easy it is to sleep instead of work out. And how hard it is to start a new routine (especially when the alternative is a warm bed and sleep).
Instead, she needed to remind herself that it was perfectly normal to want to stay in bed, but that in order to move the dirt, it wasn’t an option.
The Magic Pill is Consistency.
There’s no magic formula or pill when it comes to results. You have to find a workout that you enjoy, and preferably with a community of like-minded people.
I’ve always said that there are a ton of great workout options out there. Yoga is great for mobility and flexibility. Boxing is fun. Cycling will leave you drenched in sweat and loving it.
But for most people, in order to stick with something long-term, variety is the key. I love boxing but if it was the only workout I did day in and day out, I would be over it in a New York minute.
That’s why I’m partial to CrossFit and functional fitness classes, but again, that’s just my preference. I found something that’s different every day, challenges me to do things I never thought I could and helps me to keep showing up and moving the dirt.
Ultimately, consistency happens in two simple steps:
- Start.
- Stop stopping.
It’s not complicated. Sometimes you just need to turn off your brain so it can’t get in the way of your dedication. Stop talking yourself out of things and start making your actions align with your goals.
Remember, you are strong in so many ways. You are capable of so much more than you think. And capable people MOVE THE DIRT. So grab a spoon and let’s go.
