Flip Your Mindset

We all know that Monday motivation is great for hitting the gym, dodging the workplace cake and kick-starting the “New You”. However, holding onto that Monday motivation and resolve throughout the week is somewhat harder to maintain. The trick is often not about having more motivation, better goals, or even stronger resolve. Although these all have their place. Often it is smarter to stop and think about how we perceive a situation and how we can flip our mindset to help us be more successful without being so hard on ourselves.

Here are a few ways you could flip your mindset with some common weekly progress blockers.

Road Block No 1:  The classic office birthday cake day dilemma.

When workplace tradition states that you must take in birthday cakes for your work colleges you could comply, but the frustration of derailing your efforts may negatively impact more than just one day, or a slice of cake.

The Mindset Flip: Instead of telling yourself you must take cakes to the office, you could say that my colleagues are probably also frustrated at the number of cakes at the office, so I’m not going to burden them with this on my birthday and instead take a fruit basket for people to enjoy. You get to bring your healthy habits to the workplace and have a positive impact not just on your goals but your workmates as well.

Road Block No 2: I hate doing the weekly shop

Eating healthy meals means planning ahead and getting to the supermarket, or ordering online. This can feel like a chore for some and a lack of planning means this could easily get skipped altogether. When this happens eating out or dialing becomes the norm for the week or, at best, poor unstructured eating.

The Mindset Flip: Keep things simple and have a repertoire of easy to cook midweek meals. Grilled meats or fish veg and brown rice don’t require a complex shopping list. You can also plan to go to the supermarket early in the morning when they open, or in the evening when they are quieter, making your trip much faster and time-efficient.

The real mindset flip though comes from switching you thinking from I don’t have time to go to the shops to, if I get to the shops and have healthier food choices in the house then I am already a big step closer to having a successful week and moving closer to my goals.

Example Three: Pushing through the exercise grind.

We all know how easy the first couple of weeks of a new training regime can be. While the training might be tough and your muscle sore, the excitement to be making a positive change is a great feeling. However, at some point, we all hit the grind where our goals are some way off, yet work still needs to be done to achieve them. At this point, it may feel tempting to sneak an extra glass of wine or skip the trip to the gym.

The Mindset Flip: I’m not going to lie, the grind hits us all at some point, it’s just part of the process. Learning to love the journey really is essential, especially when the goal is a big one. When thinking about the grind it’s helpful to think not about the individual session but where you are moving towards.

Don’t think I have to go to the gym; think today I get to move another step closer to my end goal.

For me, this is best described by the things my fitness has enabled me to experience and enjoy.

I have been lucky enough to run all over the world, meet inspiring people, I have walked up mountains and along beautiful coastal paths and share happy memories with friends and family alike. I always think about the things my fitness has and can do to enrich my life, rather than any one session.

For you, this might be taking part in your very first 5k or walking along the beach in the hot weather with your family while on holiday. It could be that you want to try surfing with a loved one in Cornwall or play football with your kids in the park.

The training session is part of the journey, but the destinations are many and ultimately what we do it all for.

So next time you are struggling or telling yourself you “can’t” today, or “maybe” tomorrow, why not flip your mindset and take another look.

Andy Strong