For the month of March, I committed to 31 days of working out at home. Absolutely no days off.
I enjoy working out – it helps me stay energized, confident, balanced, strong, improves my mental health and all of the obvious benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
When the pandemic hit, my gym closed it’s doors temporarily and I began working out from home. My problem was that I did not enjoy working out at home at all. I’ve always felt more enthusiastic and motivated completing my workout in an environment in which I am surrounded by likeminded people and simply put.. I’m not much of a homebody. But, because of social distancing, this was another challenge for me. I did not feel motivated at all, and therefore I was really inconsistent. I would set a goal to work out 4 – 5 days a week. Which is great if you’re disciplined and stick to it. That was not your girl. Nah, I would start off strong, but quickly found myself working out mostly when I felt like it.
The number one thing that has helped me break my habit of inconsistency in various areas of my life has been.. going all in and taking do days off.
Why? Because it helped me build self-discipline first.
It takes discipline to be consistent.
For the month of March, I committed to 31 days of working out at home with absolutely no days off. I started off slow.. doing 5 minuets.. 10 minuets.. 25 and then 30 minuets. Before I knew it, I found myself easily completing and thoroughly enjoying a 45 minute workout from home!
After about 3 weeks, I noticed that I would look forward to completing my workout the next day. I was beginning to develop a genuine joy for it. And, most importantly, it was becoming easier to deny how I was feeling in the moments when I didn’t “feel” like working out, which was everyday for one reason or another. Some days I feel mentally and physically exhausted and just want to hop in the bed, but during this challenge, that was not an option. Skipping a day was not an option. I made a conscious decision to commit to my goal, this challenge. It was a non-negotiable.
As I continued being consistent, putting in work, every day, everyday..
No days off
Then, I began to see results and those results motivated me to keep going!
What prompted me to do the no days off challenge?
I was super inconsistent. I lacked motivation and the discipline necessary to slay my fitness goals.
I decided to challenge myself each month with something new, to build my discipline and challenge my inconsistency.
In April I plan to continue, but will allow myself 1 day of rest each week. Gradually I will move to 2 days of rest each week.
This strategy works well for those of us who struggle with being inconsistent when they don’t enjoy what they’re doing.
So let’s break it down step by step, here’s what you can do to break the habit of inconsistency in your life.
#NoDaysOffChallenge
1) Identity your goal and action steps.
2) Identify which steps/area(s) where you are inconsistent.
3) Identify why you are inconsistent.
4) Identify your why factor.
5) Identify your motivating factors.
6) Create a plan of action – Take your big goal, break it down into small action steps/tasks, make each task/step that you are struggling to be consistent in doing and make that your goal.
7) For each goal, set a date, attach your why, motivating factors and commit to taking strategic action every day. That means no days off. Make it non-negotiable.
Once you build the discipline to be consistent, pull back and insert day(s) of rest into your routine when appropriate.
This strategy is great for individuals with fitness goals and struggle with being consistent.
If you want to slay your goals, you must be disciplined. You cannot take action only when you feel like it and expect to be successful. Why? Because ,you won’t feel motivated all the time. You won’t be in the mood all the time. You won’t have the support of other people all of the time.
You have to be your biggest fan. You have to clap for yourself.
You have to encourage yourself.
The most effective empowerment comes from within!
Read that one again.
When manifesting your dreams, you have to do more than just believing that it is possible. You have to take action. And some of the action steps you must take to get where you wanna go aren’t always enjoyable. That is why it’s necessary to implement certain strategies that will help you get going and to keep going!
Don’t give up on your dream.
Don’t give up on yourself.
Please note: This strategy is not only for fitness goals. I encourage you to make this challenge your own; manipulate it to fit the goals you have set for other areas of your life.
I wish you an abundance of peace, love & happiness!
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