I want you to build an environment that supports your goals. The easiest way to do this is to remove the temptations, which are easily accessible on a daily basis. You can’t be tempted if there is nothing there to tempt you right?
So, let’s look at a few different factors that make up your environment: The people in your life, the objects that you interact with on a daily basis, and the food you eat.
#1 People
If you surround yourself with friends and family who like to go out regularly to restaurants and bars, guess where you’ll be spending a lot more time? Now I’m not saying ditch your friends and family. My first suggestion would be to scale back how much you interact with the people that you know are having a negative influence towards your health and fitness goals.
You could also make an effort at getting to know someone who is like minded about health and fitness, or someone who motivates you to stay on track. There are tonnes of ways to do this. Talking to people at the gym is probably one of the easiest ways. You already have something in common and frequent the same location on a regular basis. If the gym isn’t your thing, you could try a new sport, or activity based social clubs such as hiking groups.
#2 Your Surroundings
The same idea can be applied to the physical things you interact with on a daily basis. If you have a lot of technology floating around the house, chairs and sofas, guess what you’ll spend a lot of time doing? Television, laptops and smart phones all require us to do the same thing, nothing. That’s not great if we want to lose weight, let alone have a healthy heart, joints, muscles and just be human.
Again, don’t throw away these items, just be aware that these items make you more and more sedentary. Have the awareness that every time you sit and do nothing for extended periods of time, you are making your body worse and what it is designed to do, which is move! And perhaps you don’t need that ipad, or the extra a chair in the corner? If you can remove the temptations it will be a lot easier to stay active.
#3 Food
The food you eat is also part of your environment. And believe it or not, this is probably the easiest factor to control. How? Next time you go to the grocery store, walk straight past the lollies, double cream cheese, chocolates, cakes, soft drink, and fatty cuts of red meat. Just walk past all the things that you know are not going to get you where you want to be and stock up with all the nutritious foods you know your body deserves. Now you have completely removed the temptation from your house. This works particularly well for me because I know that if I have to make an extra effort to source ice cream late at night, and leave the comfort of my pjs and Netflix, it is definitely not happening!
At the end of the day, the people and the things you surround yourself play a large role in shaping your life. So if you have a particular goal that is extremely important to you, create an environment that will nurture your goal and motivate you to succeed.