By Naomi Rabon, NW Fitness Team Trainer
Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.
Casey Kasem, radio personality
Whether you grew up hearing this infamous phrase often, or you are just now reading it for the very first time, these words have likely become etched in your brain for life – and with good reason.
THE BALANCING ACT
As with many other things in life, there is often a struggle to find balance between two opposite extremes. And as we grow and change, this balance must too be frequently tweaked and adjusted to accommodate our ever-evolving goals and lifestyle.
When it comes to fitness goals – both setting them and pursuing them – the balance comes between keeping your feet planted, staying grounded and taking care of your “adulting” responsibilities, while simultaneously setting fitness and physique transformation goals that excite and scare you.
MINDLESSLY EXERCISING
If you think just going to the gym and following the exercises in a fitness program in a manner such as the following: “I need to do this many sets and this many reps of this exercise supersetting it with this many sets and this many reps of this exercise in order to get the results I want,” and then proceed to go through the motions of lifting the bar, pulling the weight and pushing the plates, you are in for a wake-up call. There is quite a bit more to it than that.
The above scenario is generally referred to as “going through the motions” of a workout, where you aren’t truly engaged in the workout but rather haphazardly going through the movements of the exercises.
AIM HIGH, BUT STAY GROUNDED
But how do you know if your fitness and physique transformation goals are too high? That is the million dollar question right there. This can be somewhat trial and error and can take some tweaking, but here are some general tell-tale signs that your goals might be too high to realistically pursue for your life:
• Important responsibilities become neglected in pursuit of your goal.
• Feelings of obsession and need override you and overtake most of your thoughts and actions throughout the day creating a sense of tunnel vision in an unhealthy way.
• People you care about (including yourself) get hurt during your journey to pursue your goals.
Here are ways you can tell that your goals are high, but at the same time you can realistically pursue them:
1. You are able to fit your goals into your life without neglecting other important priorities and responsibilities.
2. Pursuing your goals does not overrun your whole life, but rather works in conjunction with your life but may involve a few schedule and habit changes or adjustments without too much sacrifice.
3. People you care about will not be affected negatively in the process of your pursuing your goals, although there may be a need some adjustments on their part and a need for communication about your goals and any changes that may affect them in some way.
Life will always be changing, you will always be changing and evolving, thus so will your ability to pursue certain goals. Sometimes you’ll have to scale back, and other times you may be able to go full-steam ahead in your high pursuits. Neither one is bad or good, you just have to find what works for you at whatever point in your life you’re at during any given time. Give yourself some grace when you need to, and give yourself permission to drive full speed ahead when you’re able to. Whatever you do, just remember to keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.
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ABOUT NAOMI RABON
One of the trainers on Nicole’s elite NW Fitness Training Team, Naomi is a certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is a NPC Figure competitor who has been involved in the health and fitness industry for over 12 years.
Go here to find out more about training with the NW Fitness Training Team!