Why It’s So Hard to Achieve Personal Success in Isolation

03/13/2016 By Nancy Borg With 2 comments

Three members of the award-winning Pilobolus Dance Theater, which began as a group of students 40 years ago at Dartmouth, Jun Kuribyashi, Jordan Kriston and Eriko Jimbo,demonstrated their unique style of physical performance for 100 university dance and movement students, followed by a 90-minute workshop. During the workshop the dancers taught the students new techniques for balancing and using each other’s weight to perform complex moves. The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance students enthusiastically joined in when Pilobolus dancers invited them to try exercises that encourage mutual trust and taught them to become “predictable moving partners.” They also told the students that if the audience doesn’t “either love or hate the performance, then you’re not doing your job.” The Pilobolus dancers’ teaching ability and their personal magnetism ensured that the workshop connected with the students within minutes and kept them rapt until the end of the session. *** Local Caption *** Kuribyashi

Spring is almost ready to launch but are you?  Is your house winter-worn and your body still hiding under a sweater?  Do you and your home need a spring makeover but don’t know where to start? I understand.

In a perfect world, we all want to eat healthy, be fit, and live a balanced and well-organized life.  We certainly don’t opt for overweight bodies or messy and cluttered homes. But when busy meets up with the lack of discipline, it easily impedes on being our best selves.

Here’s the truth.  Not everyone is self-motivated.  In fact, most of us are not. When we get stuck, we beat ourselves up with “why can’t I do it by myself ?” This negative self-chatter simply paralyzes us. As a result, we often do nothing at all but just continue to feel bad about it.

But here’s another truth.  No matter how small the task or goal,  it’s often hard to complete without support, accountability, or praise.

The good news is that help is not a dirty word. Support comes in many forms. Being accountable fosters motivation and drives us to succeed.

  • Individual– Sometimes it’s just one person that’s all you need.  It’s that one person who’s not walking in your shoes or feeling your angst that can bring objectivity.  It could be a friend or a colleague that can provide you with the motivation you are lacking. Consider them your accountability partner.
  • Team- Sometimes it takes a village. Surrounding yourself with a network of support may be a great source of relief and/or just a great source in general. Feeling part of a team can be empowering.  The “better together than apart” motto is validating.  Consider them your accountability partner.
  • Professional– Sometimes it’s a professional that has the skillset you may not have to guide you through the process.  Consider them your accountability partner.

Make no mistake about it, there’s a valid reason why people hire personal trainers and nutritionists.  They understand they cannot go it alone. It’s OK to enlist a cheerleader to elevate one’s self-esteem.  Ditto to the client who has tried multiple times to organize their home by themselves.  This is not easy to initiate, albeit schedule routinely. Being consistent and facing the challenges by yourself is the hardest task of all. Isolation is not your friend.

Group fitness classes like Soul Cycle, Spin, Pilates, Yoga, etc. are not merely trendy.  They inspire like-minded individuals to get fit together and feed off each other’s energy to satisfy a common goal.  It’s about being part of something intentional, connecting and committing to a scheduled class. There’s something to be said about the financial commitment as well, which also promotes huge accountability and drives the motivation.

It’s no surprise that annual membership for fitness centers has escalated as health and wellness have become an integral part of our culture, specifically for the millennial demographic. I’ve noticed that it’s commonplace for them to build it into their day- to -day scheduling. It’s more their normal than it is a chore.

The simple truth is that investing in help is investing in yourself.

When you are part of the process, you will be super prideful with the results.  Mutual support, accountability, and praise, will undeniably yield positive rewards.

So embrace the Spring season with a new energy. You can do it. Whether it’s your health or your home, it’s time to get fit and set new goals. Do you need to:

  1. Re-organize your spaces?
  2. Clear the counters and closets?
  3. Make room for your car in the garage?
  4. Eat healthier?
  5. Lose weight?
  6. Get to the gym?

If you’re struggling with how to get started, you are not alone. Wondering where to begin? Just pick up the phone. Start the conversation. Find your person, team, or professional. It can be a game changer.

And everyone could use a good cheerleader 🙂

 

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