The perspective shift that could change everything
to you
A few weeks ago, I wanted to quit golf. This past weekend, I had my best round ever. I shot even par on the front 9 and finished with a 76.
As exciting as it was, it was my perspective shift before the round – not the score I shot – that was the highlight.
By “highlight,” I mean it’s a perspective shift that can be a game-changer in helping you get more happiness from the effort you put into your health and wellness.
Rewinding to that ugly moment a few weeks ago, I played so poorly that it wasn’t even fun. I questioned why I bother investing my valuable time into something that I can’t even do well enough to enjoy. And it’s not the first time this has happened.
In the spur of the moment, it’s easy to let frustration instigate short-sighted reactions like that.
But what matters is how you respond.
A better golfer would be disappointed by the very same round that made my day. And yet, the round that left me wanting to quit golf would make other people’s day.
Expectations are the problem here. They’re a double-edged sword. They motivate us to improve, but can send us way off track when things don’t go as planned.
This is why it’s so important to be able to hit the reset button for expectations.
A great way to do this is to think about your WHY. What are the real reasons behind what you’re doing? Not just the obvious surface reasons, but the deep, life-altering reasons.
Imagine, for example, you’ve been working hard for months on cleaning up your lifestyle, and you’ve made many sacrifices along the way.
You damn well want to see a payoff. And not just any payoff – a BIG payoff. Right?
You’ve worked so hard that you practically feel entitled to it. But we’ve all been smacked in the face with the reminder that life usually doesn’t work this way.
After all that hard work, you expected to be bounding with endless energy every single day, but you’re not.
You expected a transformation that would inspire everyone you know to comment on how great you look, but nobody’s saying anything.
You expected to astonish your doctor by greatly improving your health markers, but instead, there are still a few concerns.
Relative to expectations, your efforts are a huge failure, so why even bother?
It’s easy for me to make that sound extreme. But, admit it – if you’re not there now, you have been in the past, and you’ll probably find yourself there again in the future. That’s the case for all of us, because it’s human nature.
Coach Kayla and I have helped hundreds of clients get more out of life through our personalized nutrition and exercise coaching.
Along with helping our clients build a practical and sustainable foundation of reliable habits, helping them reframe counterproductive expectations is often key to their success.
Book a free call with Coach Kayla to see how we can help you build the habits – and the perspective – to look, feel, and perform great … well into old age.
Just as we all get carried away with expectations, we all sometimes need a harsh dose of reality to bring us back down to earth.
On my drive to the golf course, just before shooting my best round ever, I took that dose of reality. I had a long talk with myself.
Thinking of recent rounds I didn’t enjoy, I thought about why I play golf.
I knew something needed to change because there’s no point in investing time, effort, and money into something I intend to enjoy, but instead, puts me in a bad mood. Duh!
Time, money, and hard work don’t entitle me to good scores, but subconsciously, that’s the expectation trap I was falling into … again.
I had to remind myself why I play golf – the sensation of hitting a solid shot with a smooth swing, the tactics of choosing the best shot for whatever challenges the course presents, and navigating the contours and speed of the greens to finally putt the ball into the hole.
Enjoying a round of golf isn’t about the score – it’s about having 18 separate opportunities to enjoy the process and challenge of doing everything above. And, if everything aligns, doing it in nice weather, with good friends.
The score – if all goes well – is just the icing on the cake. (In this case, healthy cake.)
Whether you’re an athlete, someone who just wants to look and feel your best, or all of the above, we’re all prone to expectations that seem justified and reasonable on the surface, but upon deeper reflection, don’t truly align with our best interests.
The effort you put into your lifestyle habits, and the benefits you expect from them, are no exception.
And in contrast to golf, there’s a lot more at stake.
Golf, or any other hobby, is something you do for enjoyment and satisfaction.
Your health and wellness, however, are prerequisites to achieving that enjoyment and satisfaction – regardless of how you choose to pursue them.
Knowing what makes your life enjoyable and satisfying is a powerful gift. But it’s not worth much if fatigue or health limitations make it difficult (or even impossible) to put that gift to use.
And that's why, regardless of how frustrated you may be with your progress (or lack thereof), you should never give up on maximizing your health and wellness, because it’s the foundation for everything else.
To never quitting,
Dr. Vin