One thing at a time

Image credit: Shutterstock.com | Constantin Stanciu

“One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time.” – John Wanamaker (1838-1922), U.S. Postmaster General

On nickchatrath.com I talk about many ways in which you can maximise performance in different areas of your life – diet, fitness, performance, sleep, purpose, mindset and more. If you’ve made a decision to work on your performance, then well done!

But here’s a tip – don’t try and do it all at once. As John Wanamaker reminds us in the quote above, great things are possible, but only if you take one step after another.

So when it comes to your performance, rather than trying, for example, to shun sugar, sleep more and improve your mindset all in one go, just pick one. Master it for a week or more. See the results and celebrate. And only then add in a second action on top of the first, which will now have become a habit.

Let’s take physical sustainability as an example of this approach.

If you’re looking for confidence in how you look and feel, eating and exercise are two excellent places to focus. This is more than a short term burst of eating less and exercising more – we are talking about mindset shifts that will allow you to sustain change over the long term. As my wife said when she implemented this approach, “I don’t want to feel like I’m on a diet, I want it to be just what I do normally”.

What next?

Take about 15 minutes to answer the questions below. Don’t be afraid to be really honest with yourself.

• What is getting in the way of you improving your eating?
• What excuses are getting in the way of you improving your exercise?

Looking at your answers, think of one thing you could do this week to change what you eat or how much you exercise. Do it and see how it goes, then revisit the questions next week.

Good luck!