It has been 7 years now since I first opened the doors to Zen Fitness, and I have sat down and talked to many people in this community about their fitness goals. Over time I have come to learn that while many different things spark people's motivation to change their bodies, there is really only one goal in particular that leads to long term success...better health. While getting that bikini body, bigger arms, flatter stomach, or more defined glutes are all seemingly important…they never lead to long term success unless they are teamed up with the ultimate goal of better health. They are short term goals which lead to short term success. When someone tells me they just want to be healthy, I know they have a very high chance of reaching long term success. Reaching your personal best health is the answer to reaching all of the other smaller goals.
I will use the example of Tracy Ryan. Tracy Ryan is the woman who was the subject of the documentary I filmed here in Gainesville, "Unsupersize Me". When Tracy first sat down with me and we talked about doing the film, I knew she had to have the right goal in mind for success. The film would require a year of workouts and filming before we even would get to the editing room! I couldn’t afford to choose a subject that only wanted to “tone up” or “look good in a bathing suit”, because I knew that would not lead to long term success. If she had the goal of being healthy, I knew I could lead her to success. Within a year, over the course of filming “Unsupersize Me” Tracyclimbed a mountain, ran a marathon, and lost 200 lbs. And, it all started with having the goal of optimal health.
Now that being said, there is nothing wrong with adding specific, short term goals. As a matter of fact, I encourage it. Having a variety of goals is an important part of keeping yourself motivated in the gym. I have been working out for 23 years and let me tell you, it’s not easy to keep yourself consistently motivated! I always have a new goal I am working on. Right now my current goal is to lift more than my (much younger) employee Daniel in the weight room, and I have my hands full with that. But, regardless of what my short term goals are, they are always attached to the most important, ever present long term goal of good health. Good health means you have energy, you sleep well, you think more clearly, you are physically capable to do more, and you perform your best in everything you do. And, that leads to the most important achievement of all in my book…being happy! So make sure that if you don’t already have the goal of being healthy at the top of your check list, move it to the top!