No Zero Days

Greetings Catacombs Community—

We are halfway through January. Statistically, the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions are not just broken but forgotten. Some studies suggest more than 90%. Of course this is highly dependent on the type of goals that you set, but the point is that the shininess has worn off. If you are in the waning motivation category or worse yet, back in “the hole”, today’s post is for you.

We talk a lot about transformational change at Catacombs. But never do we talk about instantaneous results. Real change doesn’t happen that way. Instead, we use phrases like “sitting in” or “playing the long game”. This attitude not only keeps us safe in the gym, but it reminds us that real change happens from the little choices we make every day…day in and day out. And we have dozens of success stories that attest to the efficacy of this strategy.

If you find yourself far from where you hoped to be halfway through January, let me offer a new paradigm for you to consider. Throw away the idea of perfection around nutrition, exercise, sleep, etc. That only sets you up for a roller coaster ride at best and absolute failure at worst. Instead, start with committing to do one positive thing for your health and fitness every single day. It doesn’t have to be the same thing every day and it doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be something. One check in the win column can be a foothold for climbing out “the hole”. Let me give you some examples:

• 10 burpees before bed on a day when the gym didn’t happen and your nutrition went off the rails. WIN.
• Salad for lunch even though you are super stressed and skipped breakfast. WIN.
• Brisk walk with the dog before bed even though you had 2 beers at dinner. WIN.

Don’t allow yourself any more days of doing nothing positive for your health and fitness. Those are Zero Days and they suck you into a pattern that is demoralizing and demotivating. Zero Days are the enemy. Instead commit to stringing together some small victories and rule out the possibility of letting any more of your precious days end up as Zero Days. Not one more.

“But Coach, one good decision cannot outweigh the 9 bad ones that I made today. Ten burpees before bed won’t undo the pizza and beer I had for dinner.”

You are absolutely correct but we aren’t looking to undo bad decisions…we are just trying to make sure that at the end of the day, we have put at least 1 in the win column. Why? Because it only takes one choice to stop the downward spiral in its tracks. Real change stems from a massive string of consistent non zeros; not from one week of eating nothing but kale and working out 3 hours a day.

So this week’s challenge? Make a promise to yourself and KEEP it. But keep it simple. Put at least one check in the health and fitness “win column” every single day. Then, make the same promise to yourself next week, and the next, and the next. No Zero Days. I’m willing to bet that it will get you a lot further down the path than your failed New Year’s Resolutions.

And if you are struggling to put together even small wins, come talk to us. Let us match you up with a coach to help keep you accountable and set some realistic goals with a plan to move forward. We are here to help.