Fit for Life: Get Rid of Your F.E.A.R.

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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Matt Espeut, GoLocalPDX Health +Lifestyle Contributor

This is hard. I have trouble with that. I am not very good at doing this. That isn’t my strong point. I hear these lines all the time at my facility, and my response is always the same. Good, now that we have exposed your weaknesses, let’s go after them, and make them disappear. I have a philosophy that when something you do troubles you, you should attack it rather than avoid it. Many people have the wrong attitude when they face a difficult situation or adversity. They tend to ignore the situation, rather than shine a brighter light on it. If you do this, you will never get better or advance, and the problem will never go away. If you can’t do a pushup when you come in here, don't tell me you can’t do pushups; because you can, maybe just not right now, but you will, and saying “I can’t” might confirm that you never will. If others are doing it, you will too. I will make modifications, and show you some alternative actions that will help you progress until you can do it. If you have an injury, that’s another story. That’s a legitimate reason, and you shouldn’t attempt any action that will bring you further injury or pain, but if a task is giving you trouble only because it’s difficult for you to do, I say to roll up your sleeves, and let’s conquer.

This philosophy doesn't just go for physical fitness, and exercise, it can be used academically, socially, and in business, too. If you are going to school, and math isn’t your strong point, what should you do? You can’t avoid the subject, so you either need to hire a tutor and get extra help, or spend more time finding a way to get better. That’s it. Don’t ignore. Just try harder, take a different approach, and you will get better at whatever it is you want to be doing.

If you feel socially awkward being around people, you need to get out more, and attend more social events. After a while, being around people will be no big deal. I am terrible with technology, so I try to spend more time getting better at it. I also make regular trips to the Apple store to get help with some of my issues. I know I will never be great, because I don’t invest enough time into it to be great, but I can do enough, and do what I need to do to be accomplished.

F.E.A.R - False Evidence Appearing Real

This is what keeps most of us from achieving our goals, and accomplishing our dreams. It’s letting some crazy emotion get in our way, and bring our mindset to a place of failure. What’s in your head WILL get in your way. A quote from Henry Ford states that if you believe you can, or if you believe you can’t, you are correct in both instances. The more you think like this, the more you will realize that 99% of what will either move us forward, or pull us back, comes from mindset, or what is in our head. False evidence appearing real. Think back about all the things that worried or scared you in the past. Everything from monsters under your bed, to learning how to drive. When you look back, you think about how ridiculous it was to be afraid of these two things. Now look at more recent things that had you scared, but when you got past the initial anxiety, it’s now just a normal procedure you execute every day. Moving to a new place, joining a gym, meeting the in-laws, kids going to college. These are all changes that will initially take you out of your comfort zone, and cause a little fear, but once you take the initial plunge, it gets easier.

Believe You Can.

When I first opened my gym, I was nervous as hell, but I attended marketing conferences, and business summits, and realized that many other people run successful businesses, so why can’t I? Now the fear is just replaced with the stress of running it to perfection, and keeping all my clients happy, which I probably never can, totally, but that motivates me to keep me striving for improvement every day. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

So if you are putting off joining a gym (or at least mine) because you are afraid of being judged, or feel you are not good at working out, don’t be. Get rid of the mind trash, and realize that many others have been in your position, and after a few workouts, their confidence has risen, and they are conquering their workouts. If you are not good at pushups, no worries, we will make sure to help you, until you do them, and do them well. Then you’ll just feel silly for being afraid of your F.E.A.R.

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitness consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of two gyms on the east coast. You can reach Matt on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one!"

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