Vanquish the Barriers

Dear Fabulous Traveler,

It’s just so easy to take the path of least resistance. You might think that the best life would be an easy life, one where you seek constant pleasure, receive everything you desire, and never confront any form of difficulty. But you’ll realize quite quickly that while a life like this could be pleasant for a few weeks, it is ultimately boring. Without having anything to strive for, the resulting apathy would chip away at your personality and humanity.

Happiness seems to be the buzzword of the moment, but happiness is not a goal in itself. Happiness arises from accomplishing your goals, from overcoming barriers, from learning and growing as an individual.

Resilience

Fabulous has never been about making you a happier person. Struggles can be appreciated — going through many experiences, good and bad, will help you shape your character. Your mission will fuel you with energy each time something gets in your way. You are becoming a person who knows how to celebrate the small accomplishments and who can also stay resilient through failures. Embrace the ebb and flow of emotions and look at challenges as opportunities to grow.

Fabulous is audacious. You’re audacious. By becoming fabulous, you have shown that you don’t settle for the status quo and that you embrace new experiences. Celebrate a life of resilience! A life where you embrace the successes and the failures because you know that each experience is shaping your character.

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
— Michelangelo

Fabulous is here to help you chisel your uncarved block so that the wonderful statue hidden inside can shine.

Get past the wall

Part of this character building is confronting and vanquishing the barriers of your journey.

Have you heard of Randy Pausch? He was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he chose to give one last lecture.

His talk was about enjoying life to the fullest and accomplishing childhood dreams. He talked about the wall that’s resisting us each time we want to make a change.

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
— Randy Pausch

What can you do with this wall? Climb it, crack it, dig below it, find a way. To do this, you need a strategy. The best way to organize an effective strategy is to put it in the form of a checklist.

Build your checklist

In a recent study, surgeons who used checklists during surgery had a much better rate of success than those who only relied on their memories. Human mental capacity is limited and we tend to forget very important things, even with a lifetime’s worth of experience.

Checklists are the remedy to unreliable memory, ensuring that the most important tasks are always in front of us.

Build a checklist of what you should do each time a barrier tries to prevent you from exercising. By constantly practicing this, you will build an automated response to most barriers.

Do you recognize some of these barriers?

• It’s raining today, so I can’t go for a run
• I’m exhausted, I’ll just take today as a rest day
• I did really badly on my exam so I don’t feel like exercising
• My friend who promised to run with me is not available, so we’ll wait until tomorrow

Think of other barriers you’ve encountered. Most barriers fall into one of three categories:

• No time
• No motivation
• No equipment or partner

No time

If you’re going to exercise regularly, you need to carve out part of your day for this new activity. No time after work? Bike to work and back. Go for a run during your lunch break. Walk to the grocery store and have someone pick you up. Do pushups and crunches during commercial breaks while you watch TV.

You can always find time; you only need the smallest amount of it for a simple workout. On days when you’re really stretched for time, do a light version of your routine, but don’t skip it!

No motivation

If you feel like you can’t possibly exercise, just start with your Exercise Ritual. Play your power song and don’t even think about exercising. Playing your power song and putting on your shoes can have a magical effect on your motivation.

A recent study found that the most successful elite athletes never look for external validation. They’re not driven by social values or prizes. Their primary goal is self-improvement. They hold themselves to the highest standards but judge themselves against their past, not against others.

If you’re attaching yourself to an external goal, you might get discouraged during a rough patch. The problem with motivating yourself with one goal is that eventually that goal is achieved or irrelevant. For example, if your goal is to look good this summer, you’ll quit exercising once the fall season arrives. Instead, try to see exercising as the journey itself. You exercise simply because you have to; this is who you are. It’s like breathing or eating food. Find pleasure in constant progress and make new personal goals for yourself when you accomplish your old goals.

No equipment (or no exercise partner)

If you usually exercise with a friend, always have a plan B in case they aren’t available. Whether your friend shows up or has a great excuse, you still exercise. You don’t need equipment either. Just locate a road nearby and start running. The Fabulous 7-minute exercise can even be done in a tiny room. No excuses; you don’t even have to leave your house to get a good workout. Make it as easy as possible for yourself; if your preferred exercise involves joining a gym, being with a friend, and making a 25-minute commute, you’re adding potential barriers that will make it difficult to start exercising when you feel unmotivated. Be able to exercise anywhere, anytime. Be self-sufficient and independent.

This Week’s Plan

You have a one-time action and a goal this week, Fabulous Traveler.

Your one-time action

Think about the barriers that could prevent you from exercising. What you would do when facing each type of barrier?

Here are some ideas for your checklist:

• If I don’t feel very motivated, I will just focus on starting my Exercise Ritual
• If my friend is not available, I will do my exercise session anyway
• I had to stay at work longer than normal today, so I’ll go for a late run instead of watching a movie tonight

During this next week, try to take note of each barrier you encounter and the solutions you come up with to make them disappear. Make a physical checklist describing how you’ll overcome each barrier and place it next to your exercise equipment. That way, you’ll always be well equipped to break down any wall that stands in your way.

Your goal

Continue to exercise three times each week. Run a little bit longer. Add a few more repetitions. If you’re having trouble progressing, stick to this week’s routine for two or even three weeks until you feel like you’re ready to move on.

Fabulous Traveler, remember to seek motivation from within and to confront your barriers.

Next week, you'll dive deeper into the science of motivation and how you can constantly rekindle it, even after long periods of inactivity.

Fabulous is here to help you keep exercising for the rest of your life, Fabulous Traveler!