How to flip the script on limiting behaviors

Welcome to the weekend, my fellow golf nut!

It’s gonna be another great one…I can feel it. 

Here’s why: 

Most of what we achieve in life is based on our behavior, which we can break down into two types of behaviors: 

  1. Empowering 
  2. Limiting 

When it comes to our health and fitness, many people get stuck in an endless loop of gathering information (limiting behavior) rather than taking action (empowering behavior). 

In a perfect world, we would maximize our existing empowering behaviors and correct (or at least limit) our limiting behaviors. 

What I’ve found is that people who struggle to get into shape have few, if any, existing empowering behaviors they can tap into. 

They: 

  • Struggle to take action in the face of incomplete or contradictory information 
  • Aren’t comfortable making constant adjustments 
  • Have an “all or nothing” mentality (I’ve been very guilty of this one) 
  • Have no intuition to rely on 

So… 

How do you transform a limiting behavior into an empowering one? 

Well… 

YOU DON’T! 

Instead, limit a limiting behavior. 

For example – My cousin Ryan loves a good IPA (as do I). If he brings a 6-pack to golf tomorrow, he’ll be the first to tell you that it’ll be gone by the time we leave the course.  

Instead of trying to change his behavior – like crushing a 6-pack of 8.2% ABV brews in one sitting – he’ll only bring two or three of them (or, Athletic Brewing makes a delicious N/A IPA that he swears by). 

And it works really well. 

If you can identify just one behavior you know holds you back, and figure out a way to prevent having the opportunity for it to show up, you’ll experience a surge in productivity and effectiveness.  

Now, some limiting behaviors aren’t so easy as inventory control. 

For those, we have to at least neutralize those behaviors, and if we’re lucky, turn our weakest into our most empowering. 

Say you want to start a new exercise program. You may be worried: 

  • You’ll choose the wrong program 
  • You don’t have what it takes 
  • You could get injured 
  • You’ll be embarrassed because you’ll do the movements wrong, and people will laugh at you 
  • You’ll just give up and feel like a failure 
  • You won’t have enough time 
  • It’ll take too long to see results 

So, F it!  

Just do one push-up. That’s your workout today. Just one.  

This will give you an immediate win – and winning is the best!  

You’ll prove you have what it takes. Won’t get injured or sore. And you’ll probably find that when you get down to do one, you may as well do four or five.  

Do that 5 days in a row.  

And magically, you’ve got momentum.  

You have counteracted some of those negative behaviors with more positive ones.  

And crazy as it seems, you’ll also get quicker results this way because momentum compounds whereas trying to kill yourself every single routine depletes.  

Only very few people can somehow push through massive pain and agony to change a behavior overnight. 

When you turn the tide from all the negativity associated with working out to more positivity, you’ll discover there isn’t much you can’t do. 

And most things you end up doing will be like riding a bike – once you’ve got it, you’ve got it forever. 

STAY STRONG, 

Jeff Pelizzaro 

PS – I can’t fix all of the worries above – nobody can. If they tell you so, run for the hills because they’re full of it. 

But, what we have done is our best to provide you with your best chance at success in the 18STRONG Membership. Give it a shot. 

We’ll see you on the inside.