Obvious as it sounds making changes in what you do will result in different outcomes.
The issue is that we tend to get attached to things, and in my experience here’s why:
- We gained something emotionally
- A favourable outcome was achieved
- It helps us feel accepted or fit in
Good as these things are for us they can also serve as chains that keep us bound statically.
For example, it’s not uncommon for men to seek hefty amounts of muscle when they start training and once this box is ticked off there are rewards that come from it. Usually there’s then a need to make a shift for health purposes (joints, ligaments, tendons, etc) and that’s where things get hard.
Making a change comes with the fear of loss.
Usually it takes a lot of time to build your body to the level of physicality you prefer/seek.
Say this is 5 years minimum.
To now need to taper off how much you’ve been doing in a specific way you’ve become accustomed to is mentally very challenging for most. I know it was hard for me personally and it took the best part of 4 years which then required some life interventions that forced the change.
Being honest if the string of nasties didn’t happen I’d not have changed my training.
I feared too deeply losing what had been worked so hard to attain.
It may help to know that this won’t happen in the way you think it will, you can sustain what you what with a fraction of what it took to build and in addition to that you’ll be able to stockpile your progress with new & different training stimuli.
Take a moment to ask yourself this – what is it I fear to lose through changing my training?
Really take the time to sit deep with this and anger it honestly.
I’ll share my fear to give you context and get you stated.
It was the loss of all the muscle& strength which would result in being seen as I was when much younger – a small, weak kid who people would come gunning for (even though I was always up for a fight to prove a point). What mattered most wasn’t the social validation and attention, although that was nice, what really worried me was losing what I thought was respect and not being noticed anymore.
Even writing that stings.
However it’s the truth.
The thought of losing this was a very strong tether and it just served to hold me back due to it affecting how I viewed the world.
Embracing our fears is hard because once we admit the truth we can’t hide from it.
Difficult as it may seem, it will be worth it because of all the positive changes it will bring to your life in the form of new experiences.
Take the risk and commit to something different for an entire year, leave behind what was.
After all you can always return to what you know after that time, even though I’d imagine you won’t want to.
Enjoy,
Ross
RossFit P.T 