Welcome to Summer 2019! For many of us, this announcement brings excitement and ideas for warm weather freedom experiences. Many of these said new freedoms are usually tied to new stressors regarding time management though. We all want healthier impacts on our daily lifestyles; however, we need first to recognize that there will be negative occurrences while we are experiencing the positives along the way. These initial points all tie into why we need to keep up our awareness as our own Fitic. That’s right; it’s time to become your own fitness critic!
The first step is realizing that time management is a real challenge, especially as we are bringing new challenges into our healthy lifestyle alignment. Now on the point of awareness, it’s important to realize that many of us have different lifestyle goals and obligations that impact those goals. Some of these obligations can include extended family, children, summer education programs, entrepreneurial side hustles, etc. Now let’s add in the new goals which have become summer obligations which can include summer parties, graduations, weddings, camping trips, day hiking, cycling events, fitness competitions, racing, international travels, etc. Either way, you look at it, many of us seem to find more time in our standard 24-hour day to do more things when the summer occurs.
Now the big point behind becoming your own Fitic is that we must realize that we could be possibly missing out on important health and fitness alignment activities. Adding in new events with friends, family, or even by yourself means that priorities have shifted. Many of us get so busy that our situational awareness has dropped when it comes to taking care of ourselves. We cut back on proper sleep cycles, skip that workout, or get so busy that we allow ourselves that processed fast food. Part of becoming a great self-aware Fitic is realizing that we all should be trying to “S.E.N.D It” in life. S.E.N.D. defined represents Sleep, Exercise, Nutrition, and that important mindset component of Determination. If we expect to “Send It” all summer long and outperform our other seasonal periods of the year, we have to take care of ourselves. That is where S.E.N.D. comes into play when you are learning to “Become Your Own Fitic.”
Overall fitness has been defined in many ways. It is important that each of us realize that we are all at different places on the timeline of life. Your fit friend at work might be further down the timeline on the knowledge that they acquired to get them to where they are. So S.E.N.D. keeps it simple; those four components of Sleep, Exercise, Nutrition, and Determination gives you a strong foundation to focus on. Afterall we can’t forget that classic KISS Method, Keep It Super Simple.
Many of us don’t realize that no one is going to help us reach our goals but for ourselves. If you are going to build out your summer schedule with challenging goals, then you need to own them as your own. You agreed to the commitments, so step up and own them. Do not pass blame or pass accountability to someone else in your friends and family circle if items are not being achieved. Another big secret to success is defining your WHY behind everything you do that will pair up with your accountability. Taking the time to truly define that WHY will help you fuel your passions when the days get tough. This is your mind, your body, and your spirit. So, you need to take accountability for it and become your own best Fitic.
There are a lot of different gurus out there that will point you in different directions. This is your Why in your life, so you need to find what works for you. Many of us are so overwhelmed that we don’t even get to start, let alone being figuring out what it is that will work for us. One of the biggest hacks that are out there is simply taking small actions to start figuring that out, again back to the KISS Method. Before you can become your own best fitness critic, you have to take at least some of the necessary small steps to realize the areas that you can change and improve. For example, what foods can be the best energy in the morning vs. evening, removing the processed fast food, freeing up 10 mins for a morning workout, etc. Maybe it’s adding in the exercise with your children, or maybe you do have a great workout buddy that you can regularly count on for mutual accountability. Another great goal is finding healthier timed activities like skipping the happy hour at the bar. We all have rough workdays; you have a choice on how you decompress the day and relieve stress. Trust me, physical fitness activities bring way better mental and physical gains than alcohol and bar food.
So please remember, you have to care about having a healthier daily lifestyle for yourself. You can build a more bulletproof and energized daily life, yes, you can. Improving your daily energy gains and stress relief from proper exercise with rest and recovery will help you accomplish these added summer goals that you’re adding into your schedule. You’re the one looking in the mirror, and you’re the one that has to hold yourself accountable as you Become Your Own Best Fitic.
