If you missed my last post, you should know I have a 10 pound chihuahua named G’kar.
G’kar and I hike on the beach here in San Francisco pretty regularly and up until last month G’kar and I avoided the hike with the straight incline, because he wasn’t into it.
Ok, I am actually the one who wasn’t into it. The idea of trudging up a steep incline made me feel inadequate, so I didn’t do it—until I did.
It didn’t go well.
I was out of breath. I was making noises that I would never want my husband to hear and I was a sweaty mess.
By the time I got to the top, I was so frustrated with myself, I couldn’t even celebrate.
I was too busy telling myself, geez-us Erica, you need to pull it together. That took you too long and you seriously lacked grace, kid.
I berated myself all the way back down and when I got to the bottom I realized that I’d just spent 20 minutes shit talking myself.
I would never tolerate that kind of shit talking from my clients.
I needed a dose of my own coaching.
Step 1:
Accept where you are and decide to improve. A lack of acceptance leads people to give up before they even start. A lack of acceptance was why I avoided the incline for so long. A lack of acceptance leaves no room for improvement.
Accept. Then improve.
Step 2:
Play.
I do not tolerate my clients torturing themselves with workouts they hate. I encourage them to find the fun.
For me, play means a little healthy competition with myself. So I committed to competing against my own time. If I could drop my time so much as one second, I would win every time I hiked that trail.
And who doesn’t think winning is fun?
Step 3:
Put on some gangsta rap and handle it. (And by gangsta rap, I mean Unstoppable by Sia)
I don’t always advocate for distraction, but in this case I do. Putting on your favorite song is a great way to boost your mood and drown out the the bitchy voices in your head.
Step 4:
If it’s still not fun, choose a different challenge.
If you’re battling with your boot camp right now, give these steps a go and let me know how it goes.