Circumstances.

You can’t change your circumstances.

But you CAN change how you respond to them.

You see, if we can resist the urge to feel bound by our circumstances … and focus on what we can control instead … it can be a game-changer.

Plus, there’s this: Circumstances only have the meaning that we assign to them.

If we believe that a busy schedule at work means that we don’t have time to work out or meal prep, then guess what we’re going to do less of?

Yup … working out and prepping our meals.

If we believe that we “can’t work out or eat healthy while on vacation,” then guess what’s NOT going to happen? You got it … working out and eating healthy while on vacation.

And what’s going to be the result? Slowed progress or no progress, low energy, and disappointment.

Our brain has a funny way of confirming our beliefs. So if you ever find yourself starting a sentence with, “I don’t have time …” stop yourself immediately and get to the root cause of that belief.

And remember that you have the power to change it.

A great example of this is a client who always used to come to me after vacation feeling ashamed that she didn’t exercise or eat supportively while she was away.

Naturally … she gained weight, lost strength, and just flat-out didn’t feel well when she came back.

Her initial response was to go on a “diet” and start doing “two-a-days” at the gym. 

The only problem was, she’s not a professional football player … she’s a working mom with a stressful job and two kids.

So what do you think happened when she added even MORE stress from extreme calorie restriction and overdoing it with training?

You guessed it … fatigue, low energy and burnout.

We’ve talked about this over the years, and I’m proud and happy to report that she’s going on vacation for the next 10 days. And this time, before she left she made sure to check with me so she could find the travel workouts and Zoom recordings.

“I want to make sure I do a little something, instead of doing nothing the whole time,” she said.

Bravo.

That’s exactly how successful people behave. 

Some exercise is better than none.

Eating better (but not perfect) is far more beneficial than binge-eating and then punishing yourself with starvation and doubling the workouts when you get home.

Control your circumstances. Don’t let them control you.