People are just begging to be told what to do. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the biggest one is: “If you tell me what to do, the responsibility for the outcome is yours, not mine. I’m safe.
That’s a quote from a Seth Godin post I read yesterday. It got me wondering if this was the real reason people have problems when it comes to gaining muscle and losing weight.
Here’s my big issue: By giving the responsibility of your results completely to someone else, you run the risk of having your goals completely HIJACKED by the “fitterati” (that’s what I’m calling ’em)… the people that have new products and new solutions to the same problems that their old solutions supposedly solved, while giving you a new “identity”, with new goals (I’m a powerlifter, I’m a crossfitter) that MOST LIKELY aren’t congruent with what you first started out to do.
(whew)
In other words, you become victimized by the daily drive by gun down of the latest “you’re gonna die” if-you-don’t-do-it-my-way fiasco that keeps you second guessing yourself… always consuming… but never doing.
Listen, your goals are your responsibility.
You need to have them written down and LOOK at them daily. If you see a piece of advice, compare the advice back to what your ORIGINAL goal was. Don’t change your goal to fit the advice… find NEW ADVICE to fit your GOAL.
Here’s a fun quote from Pilon’s blog that might also help put the “fitterati” in perspective for you:
…stems from the fact that we like to think that the people giving us diet advice are somehow ‘perfect’.
Living perfect lives, with the perfect bodies with the perfect jobs etc.
This creates a situation where it becomes difficult to have confidence in ourselves because we simply do not measure up to these seemingly perfect people.
However, Nobody is perfect.
So here’s the truth…
That diet guru with the awesome abs that everyone thinks eats ‘perfectly’…He’s a chocolate FIEND.
The 600 pound bench presser who constantly gives advice on training..He’s had three shoulder surgeries and bone spurs removed from his elbows…as a direct result of his benching.
The Hollywood celebrity touting his super dedicated workout program he used to get in shape for “Kiss of Death 32?…He forgot to tell you he’s on various anabolic steroids.
The Paleo Princess who thinks that HFCS is made directly form the essence of the devil…She secretly loves the occasional Coca Cola when at the movies.
The shredded diet guru…who is actually about 60 pounds overweight (the pictures you see on-line are from 2001)
The dozen or so magazine covers you see every month…They are a result of Photoshop mastery.
The point is:
No one is perfect, so don’t freak out when you discover that you’re not perfect either.
The idea of having shredded abs 24/7 without even flexing is just as foreign to the professional fitness model as it is to you.
Remember, what you want is what you want. Don’t let someone bully you around (because that’s really all it is) because your goal isn’t the same as theirs.
If you want a great looking body… there’s a way to do that.
If you want to bench 400 lbs, there’s a way to do that too (that’s DIFFERENT than the “great looking” body way)
It’s your life and your body. Protect your neck! Be proud of what you want, own that goal, and GO GET IT.
And to hell with anyone that gets in your way.
Stay cool,
Brad
p.s. Make sure to “like” our fan page in the sidebar. We’re gonna start doing some really cool stuff (like cool product giveaways) up there starting next week. Do it!
About Allen Elliott