Jan. 10, 2012
Start the New Year Right: Eat a Frog
How To Start the New Year Right by Chanhassen Personal Trainer Justin Yule, BS, CPT, FMS
Do you know what the most important component of your weight loss and fitness plan is? It isn’t your gym membership, it isn’t your diet and it isn’t the new workout video you got for Christmas. It’s your mind.
Your mindset is the key player in your fitness goals. If you get this right, you will be positioned for victory; your attitude makes all the difference. But our attitude is affected by many different things, including procrastination. Sometimes there is one task that we must get done, but we have a hard time making ourselves do it. And so we put it off. That’s when it’s time to eat a live frog.
Eat That Frog
In his book, Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy defines a frog as the most important task on your list. It is that task which will, when completed, energize you, fill you with confidence and provide you with enough momentum to get you through the rest of your day with increased productivity.
But while that task is the most important, it may also be the one that is the hardest for you to do, and therefore it is the one task that you may put off. That is why it is called a live frog: doing this one task may be very distasteful.
But what happens when we procrastinate? Well the frog doesn’t go away. It sits there staring at you all day long. And having such a task hanging over your head is deadly as far as your productivity. It drains your energy, lowers your confidence and hinders your concentration.
The solution is to just eat the frog.
Frogs and Fitness
The earlier in the day that you can eat your frog, the better. Starting each day with such an accomplishment really will set a trajectory for success for the entire day. If you are used to procrastinating, you may be shocked by how much more energy you have in your day as a result of doing your hardest task early.
What is your fitness frog? Is it
- Cardio workout
- Weight lifting
- Preparing healthy food
- Drinking water
- Going to the gym
- Filling out your food and calorie journal
- Making that call to your fitness accountability partner
- Getting out of bed at a certain time
Different people have different kinds of frogs to eat. You may love to cook, so preparing healthy food is a joy to you, but workouts fill you with dread. The result is that you put off the workout day after day. This means that each morning, you need to get the workout done as soon as you can.
On the other hand, you may love working out, but dislike food preparation. By refusing to eat this frog, you probably find yourself eating unhealthy food all day. So each morning, you need to plan your food for the day, and get it ready. Just think how delicious all that food will taste after getting the frog down!
Frog Addictions
It is likely that eventually you won’t mind eating your frog. In fact, you will probably notice that your frog has ceased to be a frog. This is because you will begin to associate getting your hardest task finished with the feelings of accomplishment, energy and momentum. You will crave the exhilaration that follows disciplined productivity.
Eating a frog every day may be the key to having your best fitness year ever, because few things will so profoundly impact your mindset and attitude. Successful people know that mindset is crucial for high-achievement.
Use the comment section below to tell me what your frog is, and then let me know when you have eaten it. Accountability is powerful!
HAVE FAITH & TAKE ACTION!
Justin Yule, BS, CPT
Justin Yule, BS, CPT is the owner of Fitness Revolution in Chanhassen, MN as well as the Director of Franchisee Support for Fitness Revolution International. Justin holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with a Concentration in Adult Fitness. Justin is also a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine, a Functional Movement Screen Specialist, a Workout Muse Metabolic Training Expert, a Youth Fitness Specialist with the International Youth Conditioning Association, a Kettlebell Coach with Kettlebell Athletics, and a Resistance Band Training Specialist with PerforMax Performance Training. Justin has been helping clients achieve their health and fitness goals since 1997, and became a Best Selling Author in 2011 with his contribution to Total Body Breakthroughs. In addition, he has been nominated as one of the top Rising Stars in the Fitness Industry, and was featured in USA Today as a member of the World Fitness Elite. To contact Justin for training, education or to have him speak at an event please email Justin@justinyule.com.
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