4 tips on how to start

Lately I’ve been asked questions like, how I was able to do this and how I was able to get that. From fitness forums to my work station, I hear it everywhere. “I want to do this (insert sport) but I don’t know where or how to start.” If you are one of those who have been meaning to get something going whether in fitness, business or relationship but have no idea how, I give you some of my precious advice.

A baby crawls before he can walk, and walks before he can run.

Before Jaymie Pizarro ran the Abbot World Marathon Majors AKA World Marathon Majors (New York, Chicago, Berlin, London, Tokyo, and Boston), she started treadmill-running in her home while babysitting her 2 lovely kids and watching cartoons. (Yes, moms are the masters of multi-tasking without a shadow of a doubt.)

What she was able to achieve was no easy feat - it's every marathoner’s dream. Who would ever imagine that it was near possible for her? She was an over-weight, stay-at-home mom then with no desire to run for even an hour! And when she finally did, she experienced a handful of injuries but if you ask her how she got started, you'll be surprised to hear that she only “had” to run to lose weight quickly.

Jaymie Pizarro - http://thebullrunner.com/

#1 - FIND A POWERLESS REASON

Jamie thought the easiest and only way to shed off a few belly pounds at her current situation was by running. She was partially wrong and for the most part, right. So she started running for a few minutes at the convenience of her living room in front of her TV. Running helps burn fat but it isn't the most effective route to take. To be able lose fat quickly you have to do different types of exercises (both aerobic and anaerobic). Guess which type running is? 

Know that she was very committed to making a drastic change. You couldn't stop her from trying as she had a strong belief and wanted to take massive action. She eventually got bored and went to do groundwork outside regularly for about half an hour. The next thing she knew, she was doing half-marathons until she became what she is today – the first Filipino to participate and finish the World Marathon Majors.

"You don't have to be great to start. You have to start to be great."

                                                                                      - Zig Ziglar

And it all started with an excuse to start; nevertheless, a reason to begin. Don't worry too much on the end goal, the sooner you find the "excuse to start" instead of making excuses not to start, (like everyone else does) the sooner you are to actually producing results. Ultimately, you will find yourself that big of a reason to be able to take the next step to achieving tremendous results.

#2 - BEGIN TODAY

Not tomorrow, not when you’re done with your project, and no, not when you’re no longer busy with whatever you are doing. Begin TODAY. How many times have you told yourself that you are going to go on a diet only to find yourself devouring all the fries you can get your hands on?

“Yes, you are hereby declared guilty beyond reasonable doubt! I sentence you to one month of cross-fit training!”

No worries, not all of us started with an excellent track record. Some of us have zero experience in working out or don't know how sweating feels like. What matters is what we do from this point forward, what we do NOW. Stop procrastinating. Whether it can be done today, tomorrow, or the next month, begin today regardless! Beware that if you delay action even for just a day or two, you’ve already reduced the chance you are actually going to do it drastically and delay it even more. Ask yourself how many times you have told yourself that you were going to possess that beach body come summer only to say "Nah, maybe I'll do it later?" So the next time you say you’ll do it tomorrow, consider it done NEVER.

#3 - TIME BLOCK IT

One of the secrets to achieving success in basically anything in life is action. And what better way to make sure that it is indeed going to happen and acted upon? Time blocking as defined by Gary Keller in his book, The One Thing is an unconventional approach to plan execution - it is allotting a portion of your day to do specifically the one thing you intend to do to reach your goals and nothing else except that one thing. This portion of your day becomes sacred. Nobody can touch it and no one should be able to keep you away from this time blocked period. Everything else you do becomes a distraction and it sucks you away from achieving your dreams like a vacuum. You should be strong enough to hold on to your zone when you enter this period.

Say you time blocked 6-7 o’clock PM to do squats in the gym, you are then forced by the time lords to do just that come 6 PM. That means saying “no” to overtime work and everything else. (Sorry baby, I’m time blocked today). By doing so, you eliminate having a lost sense of purpose and the feeling of cluttered thoughts. Your day and when done on a regular basis, your life eventually becomes much more organized. Soon enough you become a master of this one thing with the help of time blocking.

 

 

#4 TAKE BABY STEPS

Earlier we discussed how Jaime wanted to un-chubby herself. She didn’t register for a marathon the minute she realized she was getting out of shape. (By the way, if you’re a mom, we're okay with you not having that Coca Cola bottle figure.) Instead, she put on her tights and running shoes and immediately got to work. And got to work she did, but she did slowly. No one runs marathons without running 21k’s first, right? Just like you can’t fight in the elite-level MMA competition without having amateur fights (unless you are CM Punk).

Start small and slowly work your way up. Take time. Take as much time as you need. You may progress slower than others; that's fine. Keep your focus on that one thing you badly wanted for the longest time and keep in mind that you are progressing as long as you keep on doing. Your skills will slowly start to develop. Do NOT look at others. 
Remember: Winners focus on winning, losers focus on winners. 

These are my simple tips to fast-track your achievement of your goals, so Nike can be proud of you as you finally "Do it". Now go back to whatever it was that you wanted to achieve in your life that was just put away for good because of whatever excuse you had at that time. Can you apply these methods? I would like to hear your comments & suggestions. Happy doing!