I am a firm believer that you have to make commitments to yourself and stick to them if you want to make positive changes in your life. If you aren’t going to hold yourself accountable, then who is? You have to be the one to call yourself out when you start to slip up on what you committed to. Yes, it’s great to have accountability partners, support systems in your life, and people who will be there for you when you aren’t doing it yourself, but ultimately, at the end of the day, this is your life, and the choices that you make are on you.
The choices that you make matter. Even the little ones. What you think dictates the choices that you make, and the choices that you make determine the outcome. That’s pretty powerful stuff. My workout bestie, Jess Sims from Peloton (we’re not actually besties at all, she doesn’t even know I exist), always says “how you do anything is how you do everything”. She usually says it when I want to quit, or slack, or go a little slower on my reps or sprints. Everytime I hear that quote, it sticks. The truth of it hits me every time when I need it the most. How you do anything in life is a sign of how you are willing to do everything else.
The compromises you are willing to make on the small, seemingly meaningless things are likely the compromises you are willing to make on the bigger things in life. The small choices that you make every day are the ones that create your habits and amount to big outcomes. So what you do, what you compromise on, what you make excuses for, what you are willing to tolerate, it all matters.
If you aren’t happy with where things are in your life, you have big goals and changes you want to make, you have to get serious about the consistency of the little things that you do every single day. You aren’t what you do once, you are what you repeatedly do and think about (again, thanks Jess Sims for that one). Your life is a culmination of the little moments, choices, thoughts, and habits.
So, it’s time to get serious about the little things.
Here’s something to think about: What are your non-negotiables for yourself? I make a list of non-negotiables for myself each week. The things I am committing to stick to no matter what comes up, because something always will. The things I won’t make excuses for and will do even when I don’t feel like it. the things I know will move the needle, will get me further ahead in life and towards my goals. The things that aren’t glamorous or glorious, or instagram worthy. The things I have to choose to do in the small moments when it’s just me and myself, and I’ll be the only one who knows I didn’t do them.
There will always be opportunities to make excuses to not do the hard things. But when you do the hard thing anyway, that’s when you get stronger.
If you are here because you want to improve your metabolism, lose weight, get stronger and find your happiness again, here are a few examples of non-negotiables to think about, just to get you started.
Walk outside every day for 30 minutes
Strength train 3 days a week
Start your day with 10 Minutes of Intention and mindfulness each morning
Eat 3 PHFC balanced meals every day.
This is your life and these are your commitments to yourself. You get to decide how big or small they are. But I would encourage you to write them down, make them into daily commitments, hold yourself accountable, be proud of yourself when you achieve the small things and be kind to yourself if you fall short.
You’ve got this.
Here are my 5 non-negotiables recently:
Start my day with quiet time where it’s just me and God. I do my morning routine and created the 10 Minutes of Intention Challenge to help you create a morning routine for yourself, too.
Movement/sweat. I either workout, sauna or walk every day.
Nourish my body with balanced meals. I eat PHFC balanced meals every day to feel my very best.
Minerals. I drink 1-2 mineral mocktails every single day (I have a post coming on that soon).
Don’t tolerate negative thinking. I’ve had to work hard on this one recently because I realized I was tolerating some thoughts that were not serving me in my life. I’m the only one who gets to change that.
Obviously, I am not perfect at any of these, but I do my very best every day to make these a priority. I have been doing them for so long that they are habits, all of which have shaped my life and my health in ways that I am very grateful for. Those are my overarching, every day non-negotiables, but if I have a specific goal I am working towards, they can always change.
What are your non-negotiables today? This week? Give it a try and see what you come up with! And if you need some help getting started, check out the 10 Minutes of Intention Challenge. It’s a 7 day challenge that helps you make time for you each morning and helps you set the tone for the day from the moment you wake up.