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Summary
On episode 647 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan runs a guided, step by step exercise to help you figure out whether your why for changing your health and fitness is actually big enough to carry you through the hard parts.
He walks listeners through naming what they're currently dealing with across seven life areas, projecting their current path forward using their family's aging curve, and asking honestly whether they love themselves enough to change. He then introduces the “5 whys” technique to dig from a surface reason down to the real emotional root behind wanting to change.
Allan shares how his own why evolved over the years, from being present for his daughter as a young father to wanting to be an active, capable grandfather, and explains why a well built why statement tends to stay evergreen once you've written it down.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com/quiz
- https://40plusfitness.com/quick
- https://aquatru.com
Key Takeaways
- Change requires a why big enough to bear the how. Quoting Friedrich Nietzsche, Allan argues that without a compelling enough reason, the discomfort of actually changing will always win out.
- Start by naming what's happening right now across seven areas. Energy, illness and medications, pain, appearance, confidence and self respect, physical capacity, and relationships all reveal where health and fitness is quietly costing you.
- Project your current path forward using your family's aging curve. Look honestly at what happened to your parents and grandparents and ask what your own future looks like across those same seven areas if nothing changes.
- Ask yourself if you love yourself enough to change. Allan says many of his clients answered “no” or “I don't know” to this question, and that self love has to be addressed directly or it will quietly sabotage the rest of the process.
- The “copilot” mindset type struggles hardest with this. People who orient their whole life around caring for others often deprioritize themselves so completely that they can't see a path to change; Allan points listeners to his mindset type quiz to check for this pattern.
- Use the “5 whys” to dig from a surface reason to the real emotional root. Repeatedly asking “why” turns a vague goal like “more energy” into a specific driver, like not wanting to depend on your spouse or missing out on your grandchildren's lives.
- A well built why statement tends to be evergreen. It may expand as life changes, marriage, kids, aging parents, but the core rarely disappears; Allan's own why grew from being present for his daughter to wanting to be an active, capable grandfather.
- Allan's own why centers on not repeating his grandfather's last years. His grandfather lived to 95 but spent his final years unable to get himself to the bathroom in time; that image, not an abstract fitness goal, is what keeps Allan consistent.
- If the exercise is hard to do solo, Allan offers a free 15 minute coaching call to walk through it together. He notes most people won't complete a full, emotionally honest why statement just from listening to a podcast, which is why he built the session as a working exercise rather than a passive one.
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 656 – The power of pushing limits with Gwendolyn Bounds
Episode Notes
Podcast: 40+ Fitness
Episode: 647
Published: 2024-06-18
Host: Allan Misner (aka Coach Allan), author of The Wellness Roadmap
Guest(s): Rachel (co-host), our co host, coach Rachel
Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube (audio only)