Castle Personal Training
Castle Personal Training is a Corstorphine, Edinburgh based company who specialise in weightloss/toning and Pre and Post Natal exercise.
Why I focus on what I need rather than what I want? Because I’m happier that way
Hi guys,
I hope you’re all well. I just thought I’d share this one thought with you.
I have certain guidelines I try to live my life by. One of them is to try and focus on what I need rather than what I want. Like many others, the problem I have is that focussing on what I want leads me to ignore what I need. It leads me to resent things I have to do and, even worse, not appreciate the things I get to do and the things I have.
When my alarm goes in the morning I might want to stay in bed for another hour. What I need to do is get up, walk the dogs (which I actually love doing), and then go do the job I love. This means I get to walk the dogs, which meets their needs and gives me a chance to get my head on straight for the day, for me to train some amazing people and for me to feel like I’ve been productive that day. If my focus stays on that extra hour “I wanted” then I’ll resent everything I do and not actually be as happy as I should be that day because I’m focussing on what I didn’t get rather than the amazing things I get to do.
The same goes when I look at food. I might “want” to eat the can of pringles in the cupboard when I’m hungry but what I need is to feel nice and comfortable within myself so what I need to eat is something nutritious and healthy, such as the mini meatloaves I have in the fridge. And, don’t worry, they’re actually very tasty. If I eat the pringles then I’ll feel pretty fat, terrible and lethargic pretty much immediately afterwards.
I might want to sit on the couch and watch Game of Thrones all day, but I focus on what I need to do; I get some work done, go train a bit, prep some meals, meet some friends and be of some service to those around me. I get to be productive, successful, feel great, eat well without having the stress of “what to cook” later in the week, have good company, be pleasant company and be respected and appreciated by those around me.
See, if I focus on what I want then I’m not focussing on what I have. I don’t appreciate that I have 2 wonderful dogs that are a joy to walk and to be with when I resent not getting that extra hour of sleep. I don’t appreciate feeling good and energetic if I focus on those Pringles I “wanted but couldn’t have” and all that sort of gumph. If I sit on the couch watching tv all day then I don’t get to experience anything real, I’m just wasting time and that’s the one thing I simply can not do.
If I dream about living in “that big house I want” I don’t enjoy the wonderful house, and life, I have. That last one can lead to some pretty bad lifestyle choices. I see a lot of people in jobs they hate because “the job pays soo well”. They do 80-100 hour weeks, spend no time with their families and resent every day they go to work. All this in an effort to live in a bigger house, or drive a bigger car. Hell I don’t just see people like that, I used to be one of them. And the problem is that it’s never enough and we always want more. There’s always a nicer house or a nicer car. There’s always a “better holiday” to work harder for, and it’s all nonsense. If you think buying stuff, whatever it is, is going to make you happy then you’ll be sorely disappointed.
You see, the things we want tend to be short-term, short-sighted and superficial. The extra hour’s sleep, the Pringles, being lazy and slouching all day, the bigger house, the flashier car.
The things we need are the things that are actually important. The joy of having a couple of happy dogs that get enough exercise and therefore behave well, the feeling of health and strength because you nourish yourself properly and take care of your self, hanging out with friends, that feeling of achievement you get from a good job well done. That’s the stuff that really matters.
Truth
The reason I’m sharing this, other than needing to get another blog out this week 😉 ; is to give you a chance to see that if you need to lose weight for your health then the drinks and shitty food “you want” are not the things to focus on. If you have diastasis recti or leakage years after giving birth maybe the new clothes you want to buy aren’t the investment you actually need to make. If you need to change your job because your current one is making you miserable maybe your focus should be on trying to find a new job rather than wasting your time watching telly all day after you’ve called in sick for the 3rd time that month.
This is not to say there’s something wrong with striving for something better or something more but, by focussing on what you need rather than what you want, chances are you’ll actually end up there rather than being one of those people that always talks about what they want, no matter what they have.
Take care,
Peter
Castle Personal Training 