Big Rocks - Prioritize Your Health & Fitness Goals
Professional Health & Fitness Solutions
Big Rocks
If you take a jar, and fill it with large stones, is it full? Before you say yes, take some small pebbles, pour them into the jar, and watch as they filter in among the stones. Is the jar full now? Not quite.... take some sand and pour it into the jar. The sand will fill in around the pebbles and the large stones. It must be full now, right? Finally, pour some water and into the jar and watch the water will fill up all the remaining space.
Now think for a moment; what if you had tried to put the sand and the pebbles in first? The fact is, it is physically impossible to fit everything in the jar, unless you put everything in in the correct order. Think about your life. When you start focusing on all the little things, bigger, more important things get pushed aside because there's not enough time.
Prioritization Exercise - Now, ask yourself a question; If you were to list everything in your life that needs to be done - work, social life, famliy time, etc... what would be your big rocks, pebbles, sand, and water? Make a list, putting each responsibility under the correct category for you. Big rocks are immovable and/or very important to you. Pebbles are important, but not as important as big rocks....and so on, and so forth. Now, take out your blackberry, dayplanner, or whatever you use to organize your time, and schedule in your big rocks first, then your pebbles, and then your sand. The "water" should be able to filter in and around everything else. If you happen to come across a conflict, simply refer to your list - big rocks trump pebbles, pebbles are more important than sand, etc...
Do you have a health/fitness goal such as weight loss? Many people do. If so, did you list workouts, meal planning, grocery shopping, preparing healthy meals, stress management, and sleep in either the big rocks or the pebbles category? These components are essential to any health and fitness goal, and in order to acheive your goal, it is imperative that they be high on your priority list. Setting a weight loss goal without making exercise, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle habits a priority is a lot like shooting yourself in the foot before the race has even begun. If these elements didn't make your list at all, I'm going to take a leap and say that you're probably not getting anywhere with your weight loss goals, and you're probably pretty frustrated. If that's the case, it's time to re-evaluate your priorities.
Now, go back to your list, add in daily workouts, meal planning, grocery shopping, preparing healthy meals, stress managment/relaxation time, and sleep. Then, go back and take out your schedule and plan again with your new list of priorities. I know what's coming next. "I don't have enough time!" Well, you have two choices: you can either make the time, like we do for all the other important big rocks in our lives, or you can admit to yourself that your health/fitness goal is not that important to you. If it were...you'd have made time for it already.
Success with any health, fitness, or weight loss program requires time, energy, and effort. Ask yourself, am I willing to put in the time, energy, and effort required, and am I willing to prioritize my health/fitness goal among the things that are most important to me? If the answer is yes, then I have no doubt that you will succeed!
by Renee Sobering
APEX Personal Training
