Over my 10 years as a gym owner, I’ve seen hundreds of people start a new chapter in their fitness journey. I’ve given a lot of thought to what really separates the people who are successful, from the ones that are not. For our purposes, let’s just say that “successful” means that they show up consistently and stay at it for at least a year. Everyone’s reasons for working out are different, but I think we can agree that consistently showing up is critical for making any fitness goals happen.
So what makes someone consistently show up in those critical first 90 days of starting up at the gym, and beyond? What sets those people apart from the folks who don’t make it?
It’s not that their lives have loads of free time. I’ve seen folks with high stress careers + a house full of small children still make it work.
It’s not that they’re starting out super fit already. I’ve seen former D1 athletes quit the gym after a month, and I’ve seen folks who have never touched a barbell turn into 5+ year members.
The biggest differentiator I see is their mindset about fitness and themselves, especially their limiting beliefs.
A “limiting belief” is a negative thought or conviction that someone holds about themselves or the world around them, which restricts their potential and prevents them from achieving their goals, often stemming from past experiences or societal norms. Essentially, it’s a belief that holds you back from doing something you want to do because you believe it’s not possible for you.
In other words — a lot of people convince themselves they’re going to fail before they really start, and quitting becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s going to be a little “tough love” in here for some people — know we’re coming from a place of caring about you and wanting to see you be successful in your fitness endeavors!
Here’s a few of the most common limiting beliefs we encounter, plus some counter-beliefs that will serve us better.
Limiting belief #1: “I am too busy to make it to the gym.”
There are two possibilities here. Are you really too busy to care about your own health? Or are you just not used to prioritizing it? Those are not the same.
If you’re so busy (usually with work) that you truly can’t commit any time to your health…it might be time for a serious look at what you ARE prioritizing, and how that’s affecting you right now. Are these commitments worth sacrificing your health for? Only you can decide that.
However, for most folks the real problem is that changing the status quo is hard, and re-prioritizing can be a big challenge at first — so they just convince themselves they don’t have the choice. You have agency — you can decide what goes on your plate, and what doesn’t. Making space for your health will likely mean saying no to other things. It’s okay to do that. It doesn’t have to be perfect, especially at first — something is better than nothing.
“I’m going to prioritize my own health right now. And it’s okay for me to do that.” Someone with this mindset is going to plan their week around their workouts, instead of trying to plug in gym time at the last minute, or allowing it to be the first thing to be removed from the calendar when things get busy. The reality is, there’s rarely a perfect time to start anything when you’re an adult, so you might as well do it sooner rather than later. Nobody else is can prioritize your health for you — choose to advocate for yourself!
Limiting belief #2: “Working out would take away from my work and family time.”
Yes. This might very well be true. You usually can’t keep everything the same AND add more things to your plate. BUT…How much more would you enjoy family time, if you’re physically and mentally healthier? How much more productive and creative would you be at work, if you were physically and mentally fitter? How much more regulated and present would you be as a parent, if you were physically and mentally fitter? These days we’re made to feel guilty if we put ourselves ahead of our employer, or our kids. But as the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup.
“My time at the gym will help other areas of my life improve. My family and work will benefit from this too” is a positive belief that will help you see the full picture, and recognize the benefits that prioritizing your health brings to every aspect of your life. Hint: we named the gym ‘Ripple Effect’ for a reason!
Limiting belief #3: “I can’t afford a gym membership” or “This looks too expensive for me”
To be fair, this one might actually be true — sometimes life throws real curveballs at us like losing a job. We don’t want to make light of anyone’s financial difficulties. However, we often see this also come through as a limiting belief. For many folks, it’s not that you can’t afford it; it’s a failure to understand the value that better fitness brings to your life (and your wallet) in the long run. Improving your fitness isn’t just about getting more muscly or running faster. It’s also helping you live longer, with higher quality of life. Fitter humans generally need less medical intervention for chronic diseases. What if putting work in at the gym now, pushes off your need for assisted living by 10 years? What if putting work in at the gym now, helps you come off one of your expensive medications, or avoid surgery down the road?
“My health is an investment, not an expense” is a belief that helps us remember that we’re playing the long game. Prioritizing our health by allocating time and money to it now, will gain us more quality time in the future, and save us money in the long run, while also benefitting us in the short term. It’s all about perspective.
Instead of thinking about your gym membership as money spent that disappears every month, think about your time & money invested in the gym as contributions to your body’s retirement accounts. The returns will keep compounding over time. The sooner you start investing, the bigger your returns will be.
Our beliefs influence our outcomes.
Do you see the pattern? To be successful in any new habit or endeavor, you have to believe that you can do it! You have to at least give it a chance. There will be hurdles — this stuff isn’t easy. But our coaches and community will be there with you every step of the way — but ultimately it’s going to come down to your belief in your own ability to change, and what is important to you, that will be the difference. Nobody can make those choices for you.
This quote from coach & athlete Elisabeth Akinwale sums it up nicely:
“What you believe is going to guide what you do and how wholeheartedly you do it. Think about it, how fully do you commit to something that you’re already convinced is going to be unsuccessful? And as they say, what would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?”
At Ripple Effect, we wholeheartedly believe in you! We want you to believe in you, too.
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