For most people who are on some sort of fitness journey,
they know a good amount of what they are “supposed” to do. Most people understand the basics of what
constitutes healthy foods, they know daily exercise is necessary, junk food at
8pm isn’t good for you, etc. Yet the
same cycle seems to repeat itself with no end goal in sight. For most they feel they “just don’t know what
to do” and they logically go in search of information and knowledge hoping that
once they gain said knowledge the problem will be resolved. This however is not the case. In fact, this particular line of thinking
tends to give people a what I call “false positive” which is comforting. And we all want to be comfortable, because
comfort does not carry with it certain feelings; fear, anxiety, uncertainty.
Now the search for knowledge and understanding is a
wonderful thing and should be fostered by coaches, spouses, and peers. The missing piece to this puzzle is that once
certain knowledge is obtained, there must be action that follows it. Action or behavior is what will make the
change not just knowledge of the subject matter itself. We see this in the coaching realm all the
time. There are some coaches that obtain
certificate after certificate (which is a good thing let me be clear) but they
cannot translate all this deep knowledge to their coaching. Without the ability to take all they have
learned and impart it onto a client, they become a very sub par coach. They tend to also get frustrated because all
their clients can’t follow their instructions.
In the research study “Restructuring
Strategy for The Technical Report Writing Course in Engineering Universities of
Pakistan” by 1 Samina Hashmi, 2 Tazeen Muzammil, 3 Bushra Fazal Khan , 1 Humanities
& Natural Sciences Department, Bahria University, Karachi, Sindh 75260, Pakistan 2, 3 Computer
& Software Engineering Department, Bahria University, Karachi, Sindh 75260, Pakistan. They give
this illustration of the learning pyramid which shows the retention rate per
24hrs and which style of learning yields the best retention.
As the pyramid shows teaching a knowledge to someone else yields
90% retention rate. This has been shown
through many studies. When teaching
someone you must take the knowledge you learn and articulate to someone an
idea of which they have no knowledge.
But also look at the learning process by doing yourself. There is a 75% retention rate in information
by doing, and this method works beyond a 24 hour period. The first time a person uses a meal plan, or
meal preps, or learns how to squat they are not very good at it. However the act of performing a squat teaches
you well more than reading volume after volume about squat training. The first few times are difficult but the
more you practice this behavior the better you become. After a certain period of time you would be
able to teach this new habit to a friend which gives you an even deeper understanding.
So how does this translate to the frustrated person who is
so sick of not losing weight? To those who want to perform better and at a higher level? To those
who want so desperately to change their lives?
Simple small action steps. Small action
steps become habits which lead to large results. The large results are what everyone wants and
can blind them to the small steps between point A & B. Here are examples of some small steps
everyone can take to further their progress:
1.
Meal prep one meal for the week (ex. Meal prep
only lunches…but lunches for the entire week)
2.
Learn how to use that instapot, or crock pot
that has been collecting dust in the pantry
3.
Go to the gym on Monday (this will start your
week off with a good habit)
4.
Set alarms for meals if you struggle with not
eating
5.
Pick a time to be in bed and stick to it so that
you get 7-8 hours
6.
Go for a walk after your meal
It is said to know without action is not to know at
all. You must take action because action
becomes behaviors. Behaviors yields results,
which elicit a positive response. What
used to be uncomfortable soon becomes comforting. Comfort in the fact you understand the
knowledge you have gained and now you can act of this information
subconsciously.
So my call to action is for you to pick one thing to take
action on today. Not tomorrow but right
now. A plan executed at 50% will yield
far bigger results than the perfect plan never acted upon. Now is the time to take that next step.
