Just because you ticked all the boxes today doesn’t mean you’re winning.
And just because you didn’t tick a single box today doesn’t mean you’re losing.
Don’t get discouraged by the bad days. And don’t let the good days go to your head.
Measure your success in months.
Not in days.
-J
As a parent and a business owner, you’re constantly solving small and big problems throughout the day.
Who’s picking the kids up from daycare? When do I take Rudolph to the vet? What marketing strategy am I going to implement? How can I empathetically explain to my kid that taking the teddy bear into bed will likely provide a much nicer sleeping experience than the potato peeler?
Right? It’s exhausting. Once you make one decision and solve one problem, another one arises. “Ok, I don’t know if taking garden scissors and a bucket of autumn green paint into bed is the best idea either.”
But there are some decisions you can put on autopilot to leave more brainpower for the problems that count:
Some of this might take some time and planning upfront (like taking most of your clothes to Vinnies). But once set up, you can focus on what matters.
-J
There’s more to reaching your health and fitness goals than conquering your meals or dominating your workouts.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your health is to take a damn long bath.
And you don’t have to do anything to earn it.
-J
The goal isn’t to get your health and fitness efforts right every day or week, or even month. I mean, who does that?
And just because you don’t get it right doesn’t mean you “fall off the wagon”.
Because there’s no wagon.
You’re on a path. Sometimes there’s a bend. But you’re still on the same path.
-J
Me coaching someone in my 20s and early 30s:
“You have to move this way and train this way. Pass this movement screen. Avoid this, this and this. And then make sure you do this, this and this. Otherwise, you might as well not start in the first place because you won’t get the results you want. AND NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”
This was magic for people who wanted to do exactly what I wanted them to do. Which was less than I am publicly willing to admit.
Because for most people, it was witchcraft. And not in a good way.
Me coaching someone in my late 30s:
“Let’s figure out how we can make this work by leaning into your personality and lifestyle. There’s not a one-strict way to get this done.”
The lesson?
You’re more likely to stick with something that doesn’t make you feel like you have to run through a garden of ninjas wielding chainsaws every week.
-J
When you miss a workout, or seven, and there’s no one else to blame but yourself, don’t.
Seeking to understand your decisions and the circumstances around those decisions leads to constructive insights.
Basking in guilt doesn’t. That just leads to tequila.
Which then leads to more missed workouts.
-J
You don’t reach your health and fitness goals by waiting for the human-sized opening in your life. The opening to execute your impeccably thought-out plan. Or the space to finally prioritise yourself without compromise.
Because whenever there’s a small opening, it gets filled almost immediately. But you can control what goes in it.
To reach your goals, ram your foot through that small opening.
Fill the space with what’s important.
And then gradually carve more space.
-J
This is how the first six weeks of the coaching went for a client who started with me a while back:
Week 1: Getting familiar with the coaching program
Week 2: Respiratory illness
Week 3: Tail end of the respiratory illness, followed up by
Week 4: Stomach bug, followed up by
Week 5: Concussion
Week 6: Return to physical activity after a green light from her doctor
That actually happened. Was she frustrated with it? Oh, yea.
She had all the reasons to give up. Because she could’ve just accepted that maybe exercise wasn’t for her. Because she couldn’t stick to the plan. Because she couldn’t do what she had set out to do.
But she didn’t. She’s back at it now and getting after it with determination to envy.
That’s an extreme example. But there comes a time when your plans feel like you’re squeezing the juice out of candyfloss. Pointless. Regardless of how you iron-proof your plans, they won’t always hold.
Failing your plans is all part of the process. During the struggle, you can really work on your flexible approach to health and fitness.
Because if your goal is to make a long-term change, you better figure out how to make it all work with life that doesn’t give two shits about your plans.
-J
ps. This is the last day to sign up for my online coaching program this month. If you’re a parentpreneur and want to reclaim your energy and strength, but struggle to make exercise a habit because of your work and family commitments, hit reply. Let’s chat to see if my coaching would be a good fit.
Your energy is already spread thin. This is life, after all. Implementing exercise and diet tactics, however straightforward they might seem, while ignoring your recovery is like trying to write this blog without the letter ‘A’. kwrd. nd wy hrder thn necessry.
It might feel counter-intuitive, but improving your sleep, rest, recovery, stress management, and time management is more productive initially.
Doing that instead of diving elbows first and nose pinched into fixing the diet and exercise gets you to the root of the problem: lack of energy.
Increasing your energy then gives you the foundation and the mental and physical space to build your eating and exercise habits.
Yet, recovery often gets about as much attention as a donkey in a stable of purebreds.
-J
ps. I am enrolling new online coaching clients this week. If you’re a parentpreneur and want to reclaim your energy and strength, but struggle to make exercise a habit because of your work and family commitments, hit reply. Let’s chat to see if my coaching would be a good fit. It’s not for everyone. But it might just be for you. Like it was for these folks.
Now, if there’s ever been a word that’s saturated every last corner of the health and fitness space and ignites my gag reflex every so often, it has to be “transformation”.
But.
The things you can achieve when you decide to prioritise your health can be and feel genuinely transformative.
Here’s a feel-good, unbribed testimonial from a previous client:
“I met Joonas at a time in my life when I had a number of emotional struggles with food an exercise. I’d previously been in professional sport and nearly a decade away the subsequent change in lifestyle left me with a highly disordered approach to both.
Joonas not only helped me get fit again but also helped me regain my confidence in myself and his kind and empathetic approach led me down the path to recovery. That’s not to say that Joonas doesn’t challenge you because I was certainly challenged and pushed past what I felt were my limits and he did this with an approach that suited my needs.
I’ve trained with a number of coaches and would recommend Joonas for his ability to recognise the individual needs of each of his clients and tailor his approach, his genuine interest in you as a person and his compassion and encouragement. Above all, training with Joonas allowed me to feel better than I had in years.” – Bec
And yes, I am still taking on new online coaching clients this week. If you’re a tired parentpreneur and want results similar to Bec’s without going all Rambo with your already jam-packed schedule, hit reply. Let’s chat to see if my coaching would be a good fit. It’s not for the Rambo types. But it might just be for you.