How Simple Actions lead to Success
written by john c ashworth
At the time of this writing, we are still in the middle of the covid-19 related stay at home order. We've been here about a month now, and I'm learning all kinds of interesting things about myself, my family, my work and my world as a whole.
Two days ago I recommitted myself to a simple 15-minute yoga practice every morning that I've gotten too far away from over the last year or so. It's nice to be back and it made me think of something that inspired me to write you today.
You may be familiar now with an app called 'Noom.' A behavior modification tool that allows you to focus on small achievable actions steps that can lead to weight loss and a whole lot of other good stuff in your life. I don't have all the details. You can follow the link if you want to learn more. I don't need all the details because I already know what it is. In fact, it's the same thing I've been talking about for 22+ years as an avid bohemian athlete and former health coach. I used to call it accountable fitness and before I left the industry, I had spent considerable time, money and energy trying to bring to market my system - the coaching system I had used for years to inch my clients toward their goals.
Why does it work so well?
Because it's so much more realistic than almost everything else out there that dominates the marketplace in the fitness, weight loss and wellness industry. When you focus on three simple action steps every week and focus solely on your adherence to those actions steps, you begin to make steady progress that is so much less daunting and overwhelming and that slowly becomes part of your new lifestyle instead of some long list of better habits, that when stacked on top of each other like the blocks in a game of Jenga, become totally overwhelming and eventually crash into an instant heap of failure. Leaving you again with the daunting task of picking them up and attempting to muster the courage to begin stacking them again. This time, maybe, in a new combination that might allow you to rise just a little bit higher.
Nonsense.
Most can't do it.
Most won't do it.
And those companies out there preying on your emotions already know this and they don't really care.
The key is in the choices about which weekly action steps make the most sense for you right now. That's where my expertise as a coach and sherpa to your goals was so unique. If you choose wrong, you waste time game after game of Jenga. If you choose right, even one of your weekly action steps can have a dramatic and lasting impact on your success. And this holds true for any action step, not just your health and fitness related goals.
I'm five to ten pounds too heavy at the moment. I need to eat less junk food at night, stop eating after 8 PM, add another day per week of strength training and get back to the pool as soon as human possible - currently all the gyms are still closed. I’m getting closer everyday to mustering the courage to swim in the lake.
If I try and jump right into all of these things without first re-setting my chi and my chakras and my mindset as a whole, I will make very little consistent progress toward my weight loss efforts. If I choose instead to ground myself every morning through my simple 15-minute yoga practice, not only will my flexibility improve dramatically over the next 3 months, but my mind will calm, and I will find myself in a much better and more productive place emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When I am here, I will almost automatically make better choices throughout each day about what I eat, how much I exercise, and how attached I become to the stressors of life. Especially in light of the current pandemic.
Tracking adherence to three simple steps each week has great power and simplicity and as such most will ignore the possibilities; and the opportunity to think about your goals and your success in a new way. A simpler, more focused and smarter way.
-John
