Most of the decisions I’ve made from a kid to an adult have been about maximizing my enjoyment in life. Enjoying life is my guiding principle. It is ultimately what I coach others to do, but first by prioritizing fitness.

You can enjoy life under many circumstances, but I believe deeply that life cannot be fully enjoyed if you ignore your fitness. It is too easy to mask poor health with wealth, possessions, vices, experiences, affirmations, and many other effective means to ignore or deny yourself the importance of fitness.

My lifelong need to enjoy what I do personally and professionally has upsides and downsides. There is a trade-off I’ve accepted for immediate gratification or short-term gains, but I am fully aware that I’m sacrificing long-term benefits. There have been times when I’ve knowingly avoided growth because the challenge or discomfort of it didn’t appeal to me, but I can appreciate that I’ve had lots of fun by putting off some of the things I should have been doing.

This is especially true of fitness. I’ve never really had the motivation, discipline, or accountability to be my vision of fitness, but fitness has always remained important to me. The times when I don’t feel fit leave me feeling a void. I can mask it, but I cannot ignore it. When I’m not active in the gym or through sports, I know I’m not the person I want to be. I feel myself wasting away mentally and physically, but knowing a workout will resolve this feeling is not enough to make me act. Logic rarely wins the self-negotiation.

Fitness has been a lifelong struggle for me, and although I’m proud of how far I’ve come, the struggle continues. Labeling it as a struggle seems ridiculous, considering as an adult, I’ve never appeared or been totally out of shape. But no matter what the reality is, what I think about myself is the prevailing thought. I have a vision of what my fitness should look like, and if I don’t fit that vision, I’m unsatisfied. The funny thing to me is, if I consistently exercise, my appearance won’t really change, but suddenly, I am that vision. I’m satisfied because I’m taking action and I feel fit.

One major upside of my struggle with fitness is that it has made me better at coaching it. I’ve had to solve my own problems by learning the solutions. That’s how I got into coaching.

Here are my top ten most prevailing thoughts on fitness that I’ve learned through my clients and my own experiences:

1. Accept that the process of self-improvement may not be enjoyable, but the result is.
2. A workout is more important than the other thing we’d rather be doing, no matter what we tell ourselves. My brain rarely cooperates with my fitness goals.
3. Only you can define what fitness means to you. A lot of what holds us back from being fit or feeling fit is what we think fitness is. You don’t have to be like the person we are shown in ads or on social media.
4. Find something you enjoy most and are willing to do forever because fitness has to be forever.
5. All exercise is good.
6. It is never too late, but the longer you wait, the harder it gets. Don’t let the start stop you.
7. Going to extremes, obsessing, or making unrealistic sacrifices doesn’t last. The goal is to live the healthiest life you enjoy living through a balanced and sustainable approach.
8. You don’t have to work that hard to be fit. You only have to be consistent, but the practice of building a consistent habit is difficult. Fitness is not pain, blood, sweat, tears, and endless motivation. I have no desire to work that hard every time I train and your body won’t either. You do have to do the work, especially when you don’t want to.
9. There is no downside to being stronger, except that others will ask you to carry more.
10. Accountability is the easiest way. Get a coach and get a workout partner.

Recognizing that I cannot fully enjoy life unless I feel fit moves me to take action, most of the time. I had to rephrase my attitude around what I don’t like with the reason I do it. For example, I don’t like lifting weights, but I love being strong. I don’t like working, but I love the work I do. I don’t like cooking, but I like feeling energized after I eat a home-cooked meal. I hate cardio, but I love playing tennis.

Prioritizing my fitness has improved almost every aspect of my life. I empower you to do the same.

Fitness First.