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EGO. It's there. We all have one to varying degrees.
More often than not, I will argue that your ego is barrier that is overlooked as you build/maintain your health practices.
Lack of Understanding
It's probably often a lack of understanding of how our human physiology (and nature) works... with a little ignorance mixed in maybe? I've seen it plenty throughout my career. Here's an easy example:
"We're going to do some squats" I'll say to a client as we step over to the bar.
"There's no weights on the bar..." says the client.
"We'll get some on there, once we double check technique first and get warmed up" says Coach D.
"I typically squat 150lbs at the gym" the client will say (or something along those lines).
"Ok, cool - let's reinforce that movement first and then we'll go from there" I'll follow up.
This was a common conversation with ego-filled high school athletes, however it has been the case in adults as well. And more often than not, as we correct their squat technique, they realize they couldn't do the weight they "have been doing" elsewhere (with poor technique).
We could argue this is lack of coaching proper technique (or lack of coaching in general) certainly. However, it's the ego that plays a big part in this mindset and approach. Powerlifters, olympic lifters etc will perfect a squat technique over a period of YEARS!! Yet most of us go into a gym (whether we an active or sedentary person) and we feel we "should" be able to squat 'x' amount of weight right from the get go....
EGO? Lack of understanding of our physiology
and adaptation? Both?
From there, that same person often will here that voice in their head "but you can 'do more'" , which leads to increased risk of injury due to too much too soon and/or poor technique.
We have to understand that like anything in life, we NEED PRACTICE to become good at ANYTHING; An exercise, a habit, a mindset... They all work on the same natural principle. The more we practice, the more we learn and adapt.
How Does my Ego get in the way of my Habits?
The way I see it, our EGO impacts our habits and practices because it doesn't allow us to truly be in the present moment. Our EGO says where it "thinks we should be" OR keeps reminding us "where we want to be", but it's NOT very good at BEING WHERE WE ARE NOW.
I would also argue in humans' defense, THAT is tougher than ever to do (set your ego aside). We live in a world of daily comparison. We're bombarded with images from social media of "the perfect bodies", the "most athletic people", celebrities, "people who have it all together"....
-We conciously or subconciously compare ourselves and our abilities to these people we see on a screen or advertisement.
-We (over time) believe THAT is the "picture of health" OR the level of ability we "need to get to to be successful"
So we set off on our health and wellness goals, be it in the gym, the kitchen or elsewhere and we PUSH to BE THAT IMAGE NOW!! "The more we push, the sooner it'll get here" right?
WRONG.
When we allow our EGO to stand on the frontlines of our mind, we end up doing exactly that; PUSHING.
-Pushing ourselves beyond where we are at NOW
-Pushing our body beyond what it's capable of (safely and efficiently)
-Pushing our mind to believe that forcing more into our days will create some magical happening that will change our life
-Pushing our mind and body to the point where we feel LESS energy rather than MORE
-Pushing ourselves to do things we ACTUALLY DON'T WANT TO DO
-Pushing ourselves to learning how to NOT enjoy our health practices, rather than actually enjoy them
All of this PUSHING, leads to either NOT enjoying what we're doing (which leads to NOT doing it) or it leads to burnout (which also leads to NOT doing it).
Strengthen Your EGO in a Balanced Way Instead
As I elude to in many of my posts, once again we are seeing how mindset and aspects of HOW we approach our health practices, set the foundation for success, that have nothing to do with how much weight your lifting or how much brocolli you're eating. Taking the time to HONESTLY think about what works for you and what doesn't will help keep that ego balanced, realistic and sustainable for years to come.
Approaching your health practices in a way that is ENJOYABLE and DO-ABLE can be the most powerful tool in not only your health goals, but also keeping that ego in check. The best part is, your ego can still shine through in more helpful ways, rather than ways that impact your consistency or risk of injury. Here's just a few examples:
Focusing on movements vs muscles. When we focus on muscles we tend to naturally focus on how much weight we can lift. When we focus on movement (technique, feel, efficiency and flow) now our focus shifts to other priorities that have to do with how we move and feel, with how much weight we use being secondary. YET... your muscles, bones and physiology STILL BENEFIT.
Walking to NOT "workout". Walking to "feel it" or "get a good sweat on" is definitely NOT a bad thing. It's actually good mixed into your weeks to do a couple with that intensity. To balance that, going for a walk JUST TO MOVE, GET SOME FRESH AIR and FEEL GOOD can add SO MUCH to your deep health. And you'll look forward to it more often than not.
Eating just a couple veggies a day vs 5-10 servings. Instead of going from eating very few vegetables to PUSHING/FORCING yourself to eat 5-10 servings (because you "should" and/or so you can post your plate on Instagram for all to see), have 1 or 2 vegetables over the whole day (which might be 1-2 servings say). Start there. Experiment with different ways to prepare them and eat them. See what you like and don't like.
... These are three quick examples among many that allow us to do VERY GOOD THINGS for our health, while practicing keeping our ego in check. What do these things have in common? They're "not that impressive" by themselves. Over time however, that's where your ego and self confidence strengthen because THEN you'll be saying "Over the last 5 months I went from eating ZERO vegetables most days, to having 2/3 meals with vegetables!! OR "For the past 6 months I've gone for a walk 5-days per week and I feel so good!!".
Ego Reminders
Focusing ALL your attention on details such as how much you lift, how much you weigh on the scale or how fast you run (unless specifically training for something that requires these kinds of specific focus), you only create an "Ego barrier" that eventually will slow or stop your progress.
Focusing on the ACT OF DOING, the factors that allow you TO GET IT DONE in your days, and what YOU WANT / LIKE to do will help keep your ego in check, but the consistency progressing.
Focusing on YOURSELF vs what you "should" be doing, what others say you "should" be doing, what might look better on Instagram or X (Twitter), or what others might be thinking will help you NOT rush things too soon and work with your body and mind where it's at NOW.
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Is this something you need help with? Do you beat yourself up and find yourself "falling off the wagon" often? Do you continuously start and stop health practices and feel "nothing works"?
Coaching can help.
A Health & Wellness Coach can help keep that ego in check and help you see things more clearly and realistically within your current lifestyle, to allow you to find that consistency, figure what works for you and how to incorporate it into your days, feel good inside and out and create change all while NOT practicing letting that ego get the best of you.
Want to learn more?
and let's chat more about it!
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