Be Mindful of your Habits

When I was in my early 20s, I read a line somewhere that said "the habits you develop in your 20s become the habits you maintain for the rest of your life."

That both scared and motivated the bejeebies out of me.

I knew I wanted to be someone who trained and lifted weights regularly for the rest of my life.

So I set my life up in a way where ensuring I trained regularly was a top priority.

I have many peers that casually would get very "into working out" for a few years here and there. But as soon as life changed for the busier and harder, they fell off the fitness wagon for a bit.

And during that time, they didn't have the discipline, the drive, or maybe the self respect to continue to carve out what little (relatively speaking) time they had available to continue improving their health and fitness.

Before long, they were firmly off the wagon, seated on a couch watching the wagons go by, turning into those annoying has-beens that remind people how fit and how great they were, and "you just wait until you're mid-20s and you don't have time to lift anymore" (as if that's even remotely true). 

What went wrong?

These people never truly prioritized their health and fitness.

They didn't guard or respect the habits they were forming during the formative years of adulthood.

They chose comfort, TV, alcohol, and/or overly socializing as the way they spent their time outside of the 8-10 hours per day they worked.

I'm glad I read that line because it lit a fire under me to always maintain the habit of health and exercise – no matter how busy life got (and believe me, life got pretty busy quite a bit).

Health is the ultimate currency. Prioritize it. You live in your body your entire life. Take care of it.

The good news for those that didn't prioritize health and fitness in their 20s?

It's not too late. Everyone can benefit from adopting a healthy, fit-focused lifestyle at any age. I work with clients every day who were former has-beens and are now realizing the mistake they made by not developing or maintaining the habit of exercise when they were younger. They regret it, and now, in middle age, they're looking to right the ship. And time and time again we are able to right that ship. 

But it's much easier to just maintain and prioritize healthy habits when you're young, so you automatically continue those habits throughout the rest of your life. 

So for all of you in your 20s, remember: the habits you're forming now will most likely be the habits you maintain the rest of your life. If you're looking for a time to change or a time to increase your discipline about working out, this is your sign. Now is the time.