By John Valentik, MS, CSCS, NASM-PES, FMS

As you all know, I’m a big fan of quotes! A couple of weeks ago a great friend and someone I look up to hit me with a doozy. “Choose your hard!”

The image above depicts a pretty clear meaning behind the quote. While I’m not going to reinvent the wheel, I do have a few suggestions for you when you are face to face with your ‘hard’ options.

• When possible, connect your ‘why’ to the scenario. What is your underlying motivation for losing that weight, reading those extra books, or meal planning better. Who are you trying to become?
• Make your environment LESS hard. If weight loss is the goal, have less unhealthy snacks in the house or put them out of sight. Put your exercise clothes on the bathroom floor so they’re the first thing you see when you get out of bed. For financial goals, set up automatic deductions from your paycheck. This way, you can save and invest without having to think about it!
• Get help! Ask a friend or loved one to help you with accountability. Set reminders in your phone or on your calendar. Put time blocks on certain apps on your phone that take up your time with ‘doom scrolling’.
• Think about how you’ll feel after you make the right ‘hard’ decision. While these in the moment decisions can be difficult, our intuition generally knows which answer is correct. Remind yourself how you feel after a workout or when you make a healthy nutrition decision.
• Taking a page out of Mel Robbins’, “The 5 Second Rule,” count it down! Count down from five to one and then take action on whatever decision you’re considering. Want some science to the simplicity? Counting backwards from five engages the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for decision-making. This disrupts autopilot behavior and helps prevent overthinking!

Life can certainly be hard, but more often than not, we have a choice of what hard to choose. Here’s a few additional insights on the concept from earlier in the week. Enjoy…and LET’S GO BIRDS!