Choose to Be Fit — One Day at a Time

August 4th, 2010 | Posted in Fitness tips | No Comments » | Share this article

In my Mind, Body & Soul Diet I talk about choosing to be fit, and choosing to do so one day at a time. Here, I want to expand on that a little bit, to explain why the one choice you make today — right now, even — is just as important as any fitness decision you will ever make.

Why This Philosophy Works

When you really make the choice to be fit and live healthy, day-in and day-out, you realize that this is the only way to sustain a healthy lifestyle — to be consistent. If you continue to live your life with a grand image in your head, of yourself “off somewhere in the future, happy and healthy,” but don’t do anything today to make that image a reality, the image isn’t doing anything for you.

It all comes down to what you’re doing right now — and every little decision you make, day-in and day-out, that build towards that image you have in your head.

But the reason this philosophy works so well in the end? Because you have to be fit and active every day. It’s not something you can immerse yourself in for a few weeks and then step back from, and it’s not something you can just dabble in — once in a while — and hope for great results.

This is daily activity, an every-day engagement with yourself as a fit, healthy person, even if you’re not at the goal you’ve set for yourself initially.

Why The Opposite Doesn’t

When you refuse to look at the small-picture, at the “what can I do today to be fit and live well,” and instead insist on seeing only the 6-month gym membership, the complete diet transformation, and the grueling decision to run a marathon as the only options, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Ask any successful person — sure, they might have had 6-month or 5-year plans (not all of them, of course), but in the end, it came down to what they were doing day-to-day that got them where they are now. And not just day to day ‘busyness’, either — real, engaged efforts, geared towards making a difference.

How to Get Started

There are tons of ways to really get this mindset working for you — every day. I’d be crazy not to mention my Mind, Body & Soul Diet, which is the ultimate preparation for changing your life and your body for the better.

But you can start even sooner, even before you can order a book online. Get up. Get outside. Go for a walk, go for a run, head over to the fitness store and get those weights you’ve been thinking about. Call a gym if you’re someone who’d rather go to a gym.

The key is to take that first step, because it’s a step you’ll be taking every day from now on. It might get a bit easier, sure — but it’s you that chooses to be fit. One day at a time.