Man in the Arena with Craig Spear

Getting Dialled In

• Craig Spear

Share episode

Ever felt stuck in the "all or nothing" mindset when it comes to your health and fitness?

Of course you have!  We all have!  But there is a better way that allows you to always stay in connection with your goal.

This episode is a game-changer for men over 40, as we discuss 'The Program' and the importance of getting 'dialled in' - how to craft your own dial, so that you can steer away from all or nothing thinking that often causes you to lose traction with your goals.

In this episode...

1. I'll guide you through setting attainable objectives and tracking your progress without feeling overwhelmed.
2. How to reframe the all or nothing switch to a more supportive dial
a three-notch dial system
3. Next steps to implement this easy but powerful tool

Enjoy!

Did you find this episode helpful insightful or motivating? If so, let's connect! You can find me on....

Instagram
Linked In
The Spear Method Website

Speaker 1:

Welcome to man in the Arena. This podcast is for men over 40 who want to master their health and weight loss goals once and for all, with innovative strategies, practical tools and insightful interviews. My goal is to help you overcome your limiting beliefs and achieve your optimal health. It's time to look good, feel good and do better. Hey fellas, welcome to man in the Arena.

Speaker 1:

I wanted to start off today's episode by mentioning just how much I'm loving the workouts I've been doing lately. In fact, I'm following something called Program, which is an exercise program I've designed for the arena, which is the Spear Methods online community, and the program is a workout program that focuses on optimizing strength, cardio, mobility and core training all in one, and I've built out four different tiers for four different ability levels and equipment needs. So imagine showing up to your gym or your garage gym or your basement gym or wherever you want to work out, and you don't have to think about what you're going to do. There's no guesswork or mismatched effort. Instead, you have this progressive program that's consistently getting you stronger and more fit, and that's exactly what the program is, and we're almost two phases in and we're already seeing a ton of really great change. I know I am personally, and so I'm really proud of the guys who are using it and following it, and I can't wait to see what they achieve over the course of the entire year. So if you want to learn more about the program, I want you to book a consult call with me. This is free, it doesn't cost you any money, and what we can do is we can talk about one your current sort of workout program or lack thereof. We can talk about your current goals. We can talk about some things that might be holding you back and how the program kind of works in greater detail.

Speaker 1:

Now, with all that being said, one of the common things I hear is the all or nothing tell, which is I'll start Monday. Now, sometimes this refers to someone who hasn't been doing anything and they want to start working out. Or maybe they want to start eating better, but they keep pushing their workouts off and their eating plan off until Monday. Basically, I'll do it next week, I'll start next week. In essence, these people are in search of a fresh start or they're looking for the perfect moment to get going, and if that's, you hang on, keep listening to this episode, because we're going to talk about that. Another example where this shows up is where someone's had a bad day. Now, maybe they're already working out, maybe they're already sort of eating better, but all of a sudden they miss a workout or they eat a meal they didn't intend to eat, or they overeaten some way, and so they think well, today's a bad day, it's a write off, and so I might as well not put any more effort into today, and so I'll start back on Monday. So I think we can all relate to this in some way.

Speaker 1:

The problem is, this is all rooted in all or nothing thinking, and it's rooted in perfectionism. But what's happening, no matter the situation, is you're choosing comfort over your goals. What you're actually saying through your actions is I'm not willing to experience the discomfort that's required to achieve my goals, and if the situation isn't perfect, then I'm not going to achieve my goals, and we just know that this isn't true. That might mean you're not willing to process emotions of sadness, anger, anxiety. It might mean you're not willing to experience the feelings of potential failure that comes with planning meals or going to the gym. And the problem is it comes with a huge cost, and the cost is your health, your progress, your stability and if you're performing at a high level in your career, it could be costing you dollars. It could be costing you money. Especially with the entrepreneurs that I work with, I see they come from this place of they lack a lot of stability in their own personal health and that then shows up in their bottom line in their business.

Speaker 1:

Now, one of the biggest outcomes of all or nothing thinking is it leads to this complete degradation of consistency and discipline. There's no way that you're able to stay consistent and disciplined with an all or nothing mindset. It just doesn't pair up well at all. The reason that is is it's fueled by willpower, and willpower is just not a reliable fuel source. It's not a consistent fuel source. One day it's very strong and we have it, and the next day we don't. It's very dependent on situations being perfect. That's why it doesn't work.

Speaker 1:

The good news is there's an alternative. The cure to all or nothing thinking is to go from this on-off switch to more of a dial. So you want to switch to a dial and think of like a dial that goes from one to ten. So instead of your workouts or your eating being an on-off switch, where one day you're on and one day you're off. Think of it that different notches on the dial mean different ways that you're showing up. So, in other words, if one is your baseline, that's the thing that you can do easily, over time and consistently. It doesn't require a lot of mental or physical energy and you can do it rather quickly.

Speaker 1:

So weight loss is your goal, then weighing in might be a one on the dial. That's something you can do very easily and it's a baseline behavior that's going to keep you connected to the process of losing weight. Is it enough to lose weight? No, you need to do more than just weigh in every day, but it's enough to keep you connected and it's enough to keep you from sabotaging an entire day where you could be progressing. Now a ten, on the other hand, a ten on the dial might be where you have a lot more capacity to do the work that you need to do to progress your weight loss goal forward. And these types of behavior might be more involved and they certainly require more energy, they require more commitment. These are things that, when you have the ability to do those things, you're able to without much energy and effort at all.

Speaker 1:

So a ten on the dial might look like again losing weight, if that's your goal. A ten might look like processing urges. It might be using the hunger scale. It might be training and exercising more or focusing on your sleep. These things take a little bit more time. They take more awareness and effort. That's why they're a ten.

Speaker 1:

What's most important is that you define what each notch one, two, three, all the way up. You decide what those notches mean, so it's specific to you. And if this is a new concept, my best advice is to start with a dial that just simply goes from one to three, so it doesn't have a lot of different things on it. One might be weighing in. Two might be planning your meals. Three might be where you use the hunger scale. And as you get more consistent with your day to day and how you're showing up and it becomes easier and easier, then you can start to add a few more notches to the dial Again working out, getting the bed on time, all the different things that can comprise a one to ten dial. What's so important is you know exactly what constitutes your dial and your behaviors each more so don't necessarily take someone else's dial and think well, this worked for them and this is what's going to work for me, because it has to be dependent on your lifestyle. What's going on for you?

Speaker 1:

Now, once you've defined your dial, you need to adopt this mindset shift, and the mindset shift that you need to adopt is this that there is no ulcer Monday. In other words, there's no wagon to fall off of and get back on. There's no right path or wrong path. There's no off track or getting back on track. Instead, there are times when you need to turn down the dial and when you feel more capable. That's when you dial it back up.

Speaker 1:

This way, you're always connected to your goal, even if you're dialed down to a one. You're always connected to your goal and you're always focused on your healthy lifestyle. And with this, you don't need a ton of willpower and certainly, at the very least, you don't need a full tank of it in order to have that perfect scenario set up for the day where you're going to accomplish your goals. We all know that life's going to happen. Kids get sick, they miss school, we take vacations and get a routine. We have a deadline at work that we have to meet. There's always going to be something that gets in your way of progress and, rather than seeing that as a red stop sign where you can't progress and stay connected to your goal. Look at it like a yellow light. Or you can still proceed with awareness, with focus and intention, and in those moments, you simply just dial it down. You don't stop, you just dial it down.

Speaker 1:

Here are the next steps. Okay, pretty simple concept, but here are the next steps. I want you to write down all the times when all or nothing thinking shows up for you in your life. I want you to start to identify the patterns what happens when you're all in, what happens when you're all out? So I want you to start to notice a few patterns because, believe me, they're there. Then I want you to create your own dial and just start with three levels.

Speaker 1:

Start with a dial that just has one, two and three on it, and then add in more notches on the dial as you improve and gain more awareness. And, ultimately, I want you to set yourself up to success. Make sure that your one on the dial is a baseline that has limited barriers and it can be easily attained. And then something that keeps you connected with your progress. And then, lastly, step number three I want you to connect with me and I want you to get going in the program.

Speaker 1:

Okay, in the program, we have built in dial options that help you stay on the program. Essentially right, it's built in. We establish all of your baselines so you don't have to think about it too much, so that even when life gets hectic and busy and you have to dial it down a bit, you're still making progress, going forward. All right, fellas, that's what I have for you today. I look forward to next week, where we're gonna keep talking about your health, your weight loss and how you can perform at your best. In the meantime, keep showing up, keep doing this work. Okay, my goal is that I want you to look good, I want you to feel good and I want you to do better. Thanks, guys, have a great day. Now is the time to take action and change your life. Head on over to the spear methodcom and discover how I can help you get started on your path better health and weight loss.