Habit #3 Put First Things FirstWe are examining effective fitness through the prism of Stephen Covey' infamous "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". In Covey's writings, he argues that to be effective in any and all endeavors requires certain habits and ways of thinking. If you want your fitness regimen to reap results - whether it is a PR, a heavier lift, a longer, healthier life - employing effective habits will help get you there. Just to review: Covey's 7 Habits:
Habit #2 -- "Begin With the End in Mind" --builds off of the first. It instructs you to marshal the power of personal power and control. It is based on the principle that things are created twice. First creation is in your mind and the second is in physical reality. Habit #3 - Put First Things First When it comes to your fitness, putting this habit into effect will most likely be the difference between a successful fitness transformation and another set back. It means making those things MOST important to you the # 1 priority. And, my friends, it is not as easy as you think. Here's an example. Let's say you set your priority: "I want to be the best Mother/Father/Husband/Wife I can be." A noble priority and well worth all your best efforts. But where should you begin? Spending more time with your spouse and kids? Cleaning the house more? Date night once in a while? Again all noble things to do. But go back and look at that priority: "I want to be a better..." First word - I Okay, you should start to see where this is going. You can't be a better anything if you are not the best you. Making YOU a priority will allow you to fill the glass of all those people and priorities around you. It is no coincidence that on an airplane, the flight attendants instruct you to put on your oxygen mask before helping others, even if those others are the most precious in your life. (We'll discuss this in more depth in Habit #7). Covey used a quadrant system to help visualize these priorities.
So, when it comes to your fitness, how do you Put First Things First?
Put fitness in your First Things First box. Make it routine, an important part of you. All of those other priorities in your life will fit in neatly around you... I promise! See you in the gym!
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Jim HofstetterCo-owner of 614Fitness Archives
December 2020
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