Progress is awesome. Making progress lets us know that we’re moving forwards towards our goals. Progress is cool and progress keeps motivation levels high.
But progress takes many forms, and the more that we talk to people, the more we realise that we need to help some people reframe how they are tracking what they’re doing.
If everything that you do in the gym is focused around numbers like how much weight you lifted or how fast you did something then you should probably be aware that performance metrics like that need to be supported by the rest of your lifestyle and that some days you won’t appear to make much progress. As long as you are aligning your lifestyle and accepting that some days you might not appear to move forwards then more power to you!
But for a lot of people there are other ways that we can look at progress and highlight successes…
- Have you tried on clothes that you haven’t for a few months and noticed that they fit better?
- Have you concentrated on doing the same exercises at the same weight as before but done more reps?
- Do you wake up in the morning with more energy than before?
- Have you started looking forward to going to the gym?
- Are your relationships outside the walls of the gym better than they were before?
- Have you tracked your resting heart rate and seen it dropping?
- Is it easier to do your job than it was before?
Hopefully this little list has started to change the way you think about what you’re doing inside and outside the gym. Everyone has a different idea of what success looks like, so make sure you’re celebrating what you’re doing even if it doesn’t mean lifting more weight or going faster than ever before.
Remember that your success is yours alone and comparison is the thief of joy – so focus on how well you’re doing rather than looking at others!