I’ve heard this many times over my 10 years of coaching – traveling, getting sick, busy work, etc. all derail workouts and frequently lead to losing motivation or feeling like you’ve missed out on something, feeling like your progress has been undone, and much more.
But, this season I’d like to ask you – where did that idea come from?
Where did the idea that taking breaks, sometimes necessary ones, sometimes unplanned ones, and more, become synonymous with setbacks?
Oftentimes things come to mind such as, “it feels like I can’t see progress anymore because I skipped a week.”
Well, I encourage and implore you to tell me what the value is in ‘seeing’ over believing?
It’s going to be different to every person, but I want you to really dig deep and meditate on what value ‘seeing is believing’ has in your life.
How has that thought helped or hindered you? Certainly you don’t see every cell and molecule keeping you breathing and your heart beating but, there they are, doing it anyways whether you believe it or not.
In psychology, and more specific to the realm of cognitive behavioral therapy, there is something commonly referred to as ‘cognitive restructuring,’ which the APA defines as “a technique to help the client identify their self-defeating beliefs or cognitive distortions, refute them, and then modify them so that they are adaptive and reasonable.”
While 2025 is still a fresh slate ahead of us and as new years resolutions and various versions of the flu are in full effect, I want us to ponder what other ways we can view “progress.”
What might it be like to consider progress outside of just the optics of what we look like?
Can progress instead be measured by the quality of the conversations we have due to maybe just trying a new workout?
Even if that workout was bad, even if we didn’t finish, even if we did not feel better than when we started.
Can progress be measured even if we don’t make it to the gym, in the space where we can take deep belly breaths in the sun spot in our rooms? Breathing is, after all, a fundamental and crucial part of the aspect of physical performance and fitness.
Can we show ourselves grace and not say “I’ve ruined it all” when we experience those breaks in our routine?
If you feel like you cannot, I would love for you to explore the reasoning behind why not and if you can recall the first time you had the thought of “I ruined it all” when you didn’t accomplish a goal.
Alternatively, if you find it especially easy to show yourself grace, I want you to explore what your relationship with commitment and accountability is – does the level it’s at bring you satisfaction?
Every piece of the puzzle is working together and you can change the narrative at any time.
Reference: APA. (2023, November 15). APA Dictionary of Psychology. Dictionary.apa.org. https://dictionary.apa.org/cognitive-restructuring
