Blogshmog 1 - INTENTION 1st, then HABIT

***(Caution: I sometimes curse, I won't judge you if you won't judge me)***

▵▵ Blogshmog 1... INTENTION 1st, then HABIT▵▵

Get clear with what you want,
Where you're at,
Why you want it,
Adjust to be true to you & you only!
Create habits that lead you there.

Sounds as simple as a motivational quote, because the concept IS. SIMPLE.

But execution can be challenging. Challenging can be simple but our screwed up brains often go to complex. Take a DEEP BREATH (right now, seriously do it!) because complex is just a big cluster of simples.

Things get simpler once the INTENTION is clear.

Perhaps you've set aside the intention of becoming a better mover until now...

When we think of "being a better mover" we think of things like dance, elaborate flows, or perhaps difficult skills like a handstand. Sometimes I think to myself, "oh, man, I wish I was a gymnast or dancer when I was a kid. I'd be more coordinated or stronger. Because muscle memory, right?" But the truth of the reality is that if you start with simple steps, and get good at them, the complex stuff works its way out.

And let's face it, muscle memory is ehh, it’s a good fallback to access patterned pathways but without consist practice muscle memory won’t deliver optimal performance. For example,. I played piano for 7 years as a kid. I could read sheet music and play it like I was reading a rhythmic Dr. Seuss poem... Cut to today and if I needed to read sheet music or else my finger would get chopped off, well then bloody good-bye finger! Haha.

Memory requires consistency and habit... A daily habit is preferred for an automatic response from the body. Everything we do is a LANGUAGE.

The language we speak to ourselves in our head. The verbal language we speak with our mouths. The body language we exert to others. The body language we practice. It starts with the A-B-C's then evolves to words, sentences, paragraphs, elaborate stories, etc, yaddah shmaddahhh.

But let's rewind for a sec...

SET THE INTENTION 1st!

STEP 1... FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT.
Just freakin state it. I want "insert x-y-z here" and be specific to every last detail. Don't worry it can change. Everything in life is fluid, it undulates and evolves. But we gotta start somewhere. Don't overthink it! Just state it! Write it down so you can refer to it often. Again, you can always cross it out and rewrite a new one. Life is always in the rewriting process.

STEP 2... GET CLEAR WITH WHERE YOU'RE AT.
The toughest part is being honest with the current situation. Not focusing on past nor future. Where are you now?

I'm using being a better mover as the running theme in my head, but all these concepts can apply to anything life presents us - career, relationships, new skills, letting go of patterns, goals of many varieties. Plus one of my biggest goals is to help people to connect to their bodies, so naturally I go to the goal of being a better mover, duh right? But it starts with MINDSET AND HEARTFELT VULNERABILITY.


SO SOME QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK YOURSELF ARE...

• What is my current skill set? Not what I could do a year ago, past is the past.
• How long have I been truly working on this consistently? Not a lil here 'n' there; Have you been practicing daily?
• What has my experience thus far taught me?
• What of my past actions do I keep?
• What of my past actions do I let go and adapt a new way?
• What works for others?
• Do the things that work for others work for me?
• What am I great at?
• What am I good at?
• What do I suck at?
• What do I know nothing about?

STEP 3... WHY DO YOU WANT IT?
To feel important? To feel connected? To look cool? To... What? Why? No answer is wrong. Let your ego have a battle out conversation with your heart. I don't think anything is ever wrong if it's aligned with you. But it's like that little kid constantly asking, "But why? But, why? Oh, okay. But, why?" Be that little annoying or, ahem, I mean adorable, curious, little kid.

Curiosity killed the cat yet the cat has 9 lives.

FOR EVERY ANSWER YOU COME UP WITH, ASK WHY 5 MORE TIMES MINIMUM... ughhh, annoying I know! But it kinda works. Each time you ask you get closer to the real answer. The answer is all about the feels and sometimes we just aren't vulnerable enough with ourselves until we whittle ourselves down.

STEP 4... ADJUST TO THE NEW YOU, NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE WHAT, WHERE, & WHY.
Knowing the 3 W's can slightly change the angle of how we see things. That's a great thing! If we want change, invite the change. So there should be a slight adjustment to the approach.

For example, I wanted to be a better mover because I was constantly having pain on the right side of my body after doing intense workouts. It was frustrating because I moved my body daily and thought I was in great shape. I'm a trainer, I am responsible for teaching people, I'm doing the work daily, so what the fuuuuuuck? I also had more of an ego that wanted to feel cool. I was young and insecure. Don't get me wrong, I'm human, of course I still want to be "cool" but not at the cost of feeling like shit for the rest of the day. That's not true alignment with what I really wanted. Now being cool to me is getting through the workouts and flows with that sensation of feeling alive, energized, connected and released. My workouts support the rest of the day that I'm not working out.

So let's say you want to be able to do a handstand because you saw a post on social media that inspired you, plus it was coupled with a bomb inspirational quote by a super hot yogi. Buuuuut your wrists hurt if you do a plank for 1 minute, and even that 1 minute plank is too challenging... Then you're gonna have to keep that inspirational quote in your pocket yet drop the sloppy kicking up into handstands & slamming into the wall back a notch my friend. And instead start with planks on your knees or another modification until you build the habit and consistency of being comfortable on your hands. Hence adjusting for the new CURRENT goal. Future goals are great, but that's the future that you have no control over.

I was that chick that wanted to do handstands after seeing that oh so fab post on social media then proceeded to do a zillion sloppy shitty handstands with horribly inflamed, sore wrists... I can be a stubborn asshole. I made a new goal of just being good at the foundations of groundwork and flow... Then magically I started to be able to do handstands. Not sensational at them yet but now I'm totally comfortable on my hands and upside down because I:
ADJUSTED THE CURRENT GOAL & ALLOWED IT TO LEAD ME TO THE NEXT THING.

And even more important, I'm appreciative of where I'm at in this current moment. I have a new current goal, a clear picture of where I'm at, and my why. This which leads me to the next step...

Step 5... CREATE NEW DAILY HABITS.
I've been told it takes 1,000 reps for a movement to be able to be performed on command by the brain. 10,000 reps for it to be an automatic response.

Once you create the habit the body/mind/spirit will run on autopilot. I can't go more than a couple days without working out or flowing but this was not always the case. And on days I don't feel like doing anything at all I have a minimum of 15 minutes to do something, anything! Even if that means turning up the music and dancing by myself in my apartment... Okay, this is a daily thing for me already but you get the point. And maybe your goal is not physical, maybe it's mindset, then journal 15 minutes minimum a day.

My golf instructor used to say, "Every day you don't practice, you lose 3 days that you did practice." Intense right!? I don't know if it's totally true but I can attest that there is some truth to it.

Message: Be a Daily Doer. Give it your EXCELLENCE.

**I'll go into more detail on Habits on the next Blogshmog!**

Hope you enjoyed my words. Swing back by for more of my verbal spits. I plan on writing more. Possible topics: Weight-loss, self-care, judgement, mind-body-soul stuff, guest bloggers, fitness/product/events/class/funny reviews, etc. And give me feedback! Try to be gentle or hilarious because I'm just as human as you... Thanks so much & high-5's! P.S. I love pirate jokes.

• Venus ▵▵