Entrepreneurs: Want to Create Positive Change in Your Personal Lives and Businesses? Start Out Slowly
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 7:54By Ellen H. Brown
A couple weeks ago, I finally broke down and began a strength-training program. For years, I’ve known that lifting weights made healthy sense, and, in fact, a couple doctors have “prescribed” it as a remedy for heading off osteoporosis.
But my resistance has persisted. And persisted. And persisted.
The irony is that in addition to being a coach for solo entrepreneurs, I’m also a wellness coach. So I should know better. And I do. But, hey, no one is perfect.
Even on the day of my appointment with Mark the weight guy, who trained me on the weight machines, I was still dreading the thought of lifting weights. Because I already had quite an extensive health regimen, which included exercising 5-6 times a week for 50-60 minutes and meditating and doing yoga daily.
I’d been putting off weight lifting because I REALLY didn’t want to add one more thing to my to do list. When I imagined strength training, I pictured myself spending an extra hour, several times a week, lifting weights. Struggling and sweating and grunting to the point of exhaustion.
That’s why I loved Mark’s approach! He suggested from the get-go that I start out slow and easy, training me on 5 machines that would strengthen all the major muscles in my body. And if I wanted to add more machines to my routine, later, he’d teach me how. I’d often heard people say that “you have to” lift weights every other day,” but, Mark said another option was lifting 2 times a week or even once a week to start out.
As I listened to Mark, I smiled inside. Mark was doing what all great coaches do: meeting people where they are, suggesting small steps, because success leads to more success.
Well, to make a long story short, I love strength training! I’ve only been doing it for three weeks, but I already feel stronger and more energetic. And in a couple more weeks, I may just add that third day of weightlifting to my regimen, because it’s fun and makes me feel great. But if I had started out too fast and spent too much time on the machines in the very beginning, I may have had an entirely different experience.
My long-time resistance to strength training reminds me of how powerful our limiting beliefs can be sometimes, how they can prevent us from moving forward and achieving our true potential. This is true, whether we’re trying to create a more profitable business, organize our home office, or jump-start a new exercise program.
My overarching limiting belief was that “strength training is going to take too much time and is going to be exhausting.” But in reality, my routine only takes 15-20 minutes, and could take even less time if it weren’t for the fact that I like to lift the weights in a slow and meditative way.
How are your limiting beliefs holding you back in your business and your personal life?
How would your life be different if you were able to transform those beliefs?
I’d love to hear what you have to say. Please add your comments, here, on Stepping Stones.
Ellen H. Brown is a certified coach who works with solo business owners interested in running wildly successful businesses without sacrificing their personal lives. Her business, Wellness Journeys, is based in Cleveland, Ohio.
Sign up for her e-zine (at the top of this page, in the upper right-hand corner) for monthly tips designed to help you run a wildly successful business and lead a healthy, balanced life.
Wendy Bottrell says:
July 30th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Hi Ellen, congratulations on your learning experience. As your progress with your training (most people don’t like to work out and we all train be it in our jobs, careers or as athletes) it would better so much more beneficial for you to have “Mark the weight guy” teach you those same 5 exercises with bodyweight or free weights. If you want that meditative approach to training either will give you a better training program and you will have to connect your mind and body to get a positive result. Doesn’t have to be heavy as I say you can use bodyweight.
One of the things I coach my clients on is to bring out the athlete in themselves. Connecting mind and body to work in unison to become stronger, mentally, physically. To challenge oneselves to push through the challenges of plateus all the while enjoying the exciting journey of becoming physcally fit.
I would challenge you to bring out the athlete in you as your grow with your training.
In health,
Wendy
Wendy Bottrell
HLC 1, CPT
416-419-0522
“Coaching the Champion in You, Body, Mind & Spirit”
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Joanne Julius Hunold says:
July 31st, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Ellen,
I’m so in agreement with you here about many things: how our beliefs get in the way; how it’s important to meet yourself where you are; to not take an all-or-nothing approach.
My limiting belief, until very recently, was that: “I can not be of value to anyone else until I have everything all figured out, until I am a raging success!” You can imagine how that has stopped me. I was reluctant to offer my services, to start my newsletter, to blog. Even with that limiting belief I did start a newsletter and blog and to my surprise people do find it of value. I would say my big aha has come from my twitter followers. I don’t tweet very often, but when I do, I just offer what I can, and it is sometimes my simplest comments that get the most positive feedback.
As do many new service-oriented entrepreneurs, I made the mistake of undervaluing what I have to offer. My lesson learned from this is: offer what you have without judgment; there is someone (or more than one) who needs what you have to offer. Don’t fall into the “I’m not _____ enough” syndrome. We are all enough, just as we are.
Janet F. Williams says:
August 4th, 2009 at 11:54 am
As you’ve experienced, we may be the ones to throw out objections or otherwise block our progress. Those objections provide a benefit or secondary gain. In your case you identified two reasons – time and energy. The interesting thing about exercise is that while it does take energy, it also gives you energy. I hope your results encourage you to continue. My blog post this week is about self-objections. http://janetfwilliams.com/?p=61
Ellen Brown says:
August 4th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Janet,
I completely agree that exercising gives us energy. That’s why I often exercise during the middle of the afternoon when I’m at my lowest point, energetically. After I work out, I feel a burst of energy. Who needs a candybar when we can go to the gym!
Ellen
Cathy Goodwin says:
August 10th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Strength training…you gotta LOVE it!
Been doing machines for about 15 years now. I was doing aerobics at gym when they offered a special class for women only. Great stuff: we really learned how to use good form. In those days it was “women do aerobics, men do machines.”
Now we’re all over the weight room and I’m a fanatic.
Danger: you can get addicted to this stuff.