What’s different this time? | Nerd Fitness

Today is the most hopeful and optimistic day of the year.

That’s great!

Whatever goals or resolutions you have set, I look forward to seeing you!

We’re all trying to better ourselves, even if things haven’t worked out the way we wanted in the past, we have hope this time will be different.

Musician Nick Cave describes hope as “heartbroken optimism,” and I think that’s beautifully accurate. We all try to be different when change is so damn hard.

If you’re trying to build a new workout habit or change a number on the scale this year, I salute you. Setting a goal for change is very commendable.

But to give ourselves the best chance of achieving our goal, we need to combine the goal with some self-reflection and self-awareness.

Here are two questions you need to ask yourself as 2025 begins…

Question 1: What’s different this time?

I’m proud of you for starting again.

But what makes this attempt different?

If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always had.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

If you choose the same goal or strategy you’ve tried (unsuccessfully) in the past, the end result will be the same: another wasted year of “why can’t I get my act together?”

So think about what’s different this time!

Don’t just “go on XYZ diet” or “give up all sugar forever” or “train for a marathon,” especially if you’ve tried those things before and couldn’t stick with them.

Something must be different this time:

• Make fewer changes.
• Pick ONE goal and focus on it.
• Choose a different exercise routine.
• Choose a different diet or change in nutrition.
• Choose a different time of day to exercise.
• Get a friend to join you so you don’t have to go it alone.
• Make your new desired behavior ​beneficial or necessary​.

Prove to yourself that you have learned something from your past attempts. Don’t let past failures go to waste – they’ve shown you what doesn’t work for you.

Try something different this time!

Question 2: What are you afraid of?

You’re full of momentum right now, and that’s great.

But in three weeks life happens and something goes wrong.

What was your tendency when this happened in the past?

We ask everyone ​NF Coaching client​ before they start: “What are you most nervous about?”

This response is something they realize as a result of their past attempts:

Are you getting busy and decide to “take a break until things slow down?” Large! Now you know when that little voice in your head says it, you can prepare for it, plan something else and decide not to do it. have listen to that voice in your head.

Will you have one bad day and completely drop out? Large! Now you know that when you have one bad day, you can forgive yourself, not look back in anger or guilt, and get back on track.

Do you give up even if you really want to make it? Large! This happens to all of us when motivation wanes after a few weeks. Consider ​adding Ulysses’ Pact​ protecting yourself from your weaknesses or making a bet with a friend to keep you accountable.

NF coach Matt Myers was recently on ​The Mental Golf Podcast with Josh Nichols​ – and at 24:30 into the episode, Matt pointed out something to Josh that surprised him:

“You told me before you started, ‘I know I’m going to come out of the gates HARD, but in about 3 weeks I’m going to burn out and disappear.’

And I said, ‘Thanks for letting me know,’ and I had all these alarms and alerts ready to check in with you repeatedly around the 21st!”

Josh had the confidence to know where he was going to screw up in the future, he and Coach Matt planned for it and together they got over that hump.

Since then, they’ve been working together for two months (and counting) and Josh has only missed one day of logging in, and the one day he was absent didn’t cause Josh’s normal all or nothing behavior!

This time COULD be different

We have all decided to change, even if we are aware…

We often bite off more than we can chew:

Our goals and hopes often exceed the reality that we are fallible, busy, complicated people living unpredictable lives.

That’s okay!

If we are aware of these things, if we can try it differently… even if this other attempt also fails, we can remove this strategy from the list of potential success paths and try again.

That’s what life is all about: try, fail, adjust, restart.

-Steve

PS: If you do not wish to embark on this journey alone, I would be honored if you could opt out ​NF coaching program​.

Our coaches are great and we are happy to help you achieve your goals. We’ve had a TON of registrations in the past few days, which makes me really happy to be able to help so many new people.