While at a marriage enrichment seminar the week of Valentine’s day, I was confronted with a concept that I had never thought of: what is the culture of your marriage? At first, I wasn’t really sure what they meant by this, but after the speaker explained it became clear; the culture in the marriage is how things happen in your marriage--how you handle conflict, how you think about your marriage, how you speak about yourself and your spouse in the context of your marriage. Of course, this made me think about the other areas of my life, primarily fitness. Have you ever thought what your fitness culture is like? How do you feel about fitness, why do you want to be fit, how do you talk about yourself in the context of fitness? If it’s negative, is that the kind of culture that is going to motivate you to reach your goals? Probably not. The fact of the matter is that the culture you create is going to determine whether or not you are successful in meeting and sustaining your goals. You may be asking yourself: well how do I determine my fitness culture? And if it’s negative, how do I change it? It starts with the basics: what is your goal, why do you want that goal, and how do you get the support you need to reach that goal. Below are some things you can do to help change your fitness culture and make it a positive and productful thing. What is your vision? Figuring out what you want regarding fitness is the first step to establishing your fitness culture. Do you want to be able to do every day tasks with ease; do you want to enjoy going to the gym and doing things with your family; do you envision yourself with unbreakable self-confidence? Once you figure out what you want, then you can set yourself up with a positive mentality that will make it easier to reach your goals. Find your Why Simon Sinek has a wonderful book called Start With Why. In it, Sinek works off the principle that if you know the root reason why you do something it will inspire and motivate you (and others). While Sinek mostly uses this idea in the context of leadership, the concept works just as well in the fitness world. In order to find your why you simply have to ask yourself why you want your goals. It takes about 5 times of asking why before you get to the root problem, so don’t stop after just one time. Here’s an example: I want to lose 50 lbs. Why do I want to lose 50 lbs? Because I want to fit in my clothes better. Why? Because I’m not confident and don’t like the way I look in my clothes. Why aren’t I confident? Because it’s a reminder that I’m not as healthy as I should be, and I don’t want to be unhealthy. Why does it remind me that I’m not healthy? Because my mom was overweight and looked like this in her clothes. Her doctor used to tell her that if she didn’t lose the weight, she would be more susceptible to health problems. Why does this matter so much to me? Because I want to be around a long time for my own kids. There it is folks, the root of the why. Once you know the root reason why you want to be fit and healthy, you can use it as a motivator to help you reach your goals. Surround yourself with support One of the biggest determinants in what your fitness culture is, is who you surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with people who don’t believe in living a healthy lifestyle, and who perhaps try to keep you from living the healthy lifestyle you want, you will have a negative fitness culture. You’ll likely feel self conscious and find it too difficult to maintain without the help of your loved ones, so it’s important to surround yourself with people who have similar outlooks on fitness and health as you do. Now, we’re not telling you to get new friends or a new family, but try introducing some new friends who are already living a healthy lifestyle and can support your through your journey. If you follow these steps, you will create a positive fitness culture that will help you reach whatever goals you set for yourself!
