Waking up on the wrong side of the bed.
You know those days. The days where the alarm clock feels like a smack in the face.
On a cold December Tuesday Pat had this exact morning.
A morning where three alarms aren’t enough. Everything feels like a chore. Emails barely touched. Within the first meeting concentration is hard to come by.
The temptations take hold on these days. Working so hard not to get sacked from your job, other things fall along the wayside.
A long day can make the glass of wine more appealing or the chocolates bought by your partner.
Life goes on
Unfortunately Christmas offers no respite. As we find ourselves growing more weary from a long year, work shows no let up.
Projects need to be pushed through. Budgets for the next year need to be accounted for.
it is no wonder Pat follows the path of least resistance.
This path during Christmas has parties every week and more alcohol available than a small brewery.
All the ads and triggers around consumerism, sparking that need to relax and enjoy Christmas. Sweets, goodies and everything luscious available on demand.
These all create the right conditions for Pat to falter. Long day’s need a few glasses of wine. A long week can be followed with a blow out on the weekend.
Start the Day Strong.
Contrast that with Phil. Phil works the same job as Pat,
But Phil makes it his mission to start the day strong.
The alarm goes off like a tonne of bricks. But Phil stops, takes a deep breath counts to 10 and gets up anyway.
And he’s off.
Up 10 minutes earlier than usual. He notices the dog has left his customary pooh on the floor. Hardly something you would dream of doing with your precious time. But he’s already up so might as well pick it up.
Pooh disposed hands washed, Phil now has two tasks done before Pat has forced himself to do anything.
The grogginess has been lifted from Phil and because he’s up at his proper time he can make a quick breakfast. Nothing spectacular, just some oats and blueberries. .
Powered up with a proper breakfast, he begins to open his emails just to get a head start. .
For Phil getting up at the appropriate time overcomes the initial inertia. It creates momentum. As Phil goes from task to task. His initial laziness has been overcome
This is a stark contrast with Pat, who’s poor start overwhelms him.
Use your willpower muscle straight away.
If you want to keep control this December you can take a note from Phil’s book.
A good day starts with an early win. It’s this early win that can give you momentum.
Starting the day using willpower is analogous to growing a tree.
Our willpower is like seeds in the ground in the morning.
Given the right conditions, our willpower can blossom and grow strong. As we gain more and more momentum we build our strength to say no to the temptations of Christmas.
Whereas Pat starves his willpower from the start. Like removing light for it to grow, resisting temptations becomes almost impossible.
One Thing To Increase Willpower- Start Using it early!
So One thing you need to increase your willpower- Start using it early.
Complete something that requires willpower and isn’t particularly appealing.
This can be:
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Getting up on your first alarm
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Picking up the dog poop straight away
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Making your bed straight away
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Start your first work task of the day
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Have a cold shower.
Starting early gets us into the habit of turning off that little voice of laziness. That voice that screams when the Christmas temptations are everywhere.
That little voice that tells you to get up later, to have those extra drinks. To eat all of those biscuits and sweets in the house. To put off exercise until the new year.
The more practice you get at saying no, the better your resolve will be.
It works the other way too. The less you use your resolve the less you will use your resolve. Pat began poorly and this momentum carried him through the day. He was stressed and overwhelmed to the point of inaction.
So use your discipline early. Let it grow and give you a chance to deal with the madness of the Christmas season.
It might be the difference between you eating and drinking everything or having some self control.
If you want more tips to help not only survive BUT thrive during the Christmas period. Then you would love my blog One thing you need to stay fit this Christmas.
Interested in Free Online Personal Training?
Getting started early is one of the many tactics that I help my clients implement to stay healthy during the Christmas period.
Even with all the tips in the world we can still find it hard to resist all the temptations of Christmas.
That’s why I created the Health for Christmas program.
The health for Christmas is a free health and wellness program built with your busy schedule in mind.
To take part in the program you simply download my app in the app store and follow along each day.
The program includes:
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Fully flexible fat burning training program. Time is of the essence. Have a full Christmas training program that you can fit around your schedule.
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Daily motivational and tips. You know that you need to eat less and exercise more. These daily posts are designed to teach you the exact tools my clients use to give you the confidence and knowledge to stay on top of your health this December.
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Free access to the KG Fitness app with recipes workouts and more.
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Free Nutritional Guidance and accountability for the month of December.
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Free access to the Health For Life Program- Every year I offer 3 months of free online coaching based on how well you do within the health for Christmas program. So doing well can give you free online coaching into the new year when motivation is at its highest.
I want to give you the best possible service.
With that in mind I have limited the places on the program to 15.
To be eligible for this program you must fit the criteria.
Confirm your interest by filling in the form below.