Commitment and Honesty

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving with their families and you’re now looking forward to Christmas.

Today I would like to briefly discuss ones’ level of Commitment and Honesty. I often have potential clients either call our Studio or walk in and ask various questions regarding our fitness services. They will tell me why they need my Studio services: they have health/fitness problems, e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure, aching joints, related with being overweight and out of shape. I will then ask them what they want me to do about their problems. They usually answer that they need to get started on an exercise program because they don’t want their health to decline even further. I tell them that I can help them but that they will have to make a time and financial commitment to solve their issues. With their approval I will then set up a time and day for a complimentary session and consultation to see if Fitness Together is a good fit for them.

Many times either these people will not show up at the agreed-upon time or will call to cancel the appointment. This is where a person’s level of honesty comes in. It’s frustrating when someone is rude enough to not even show up for an appointment – remember, this person came to me – I didn’t go to them. When someone is nice enough to call to cancel the appointment the excuses range from “my children/spouse/mother/aunt/uncle/dog is sick”, “I forgot we have friends coming over”, “I have to go out of town”…..etc.

I have often heard that, here in Williamsburg, people will “bend the truth” just so they don’t hurt your feelings. In other words, they just don’t want to say “No” or “I’ve changed my mind”. Well…you’ve gone from not hurting my feelings to insulting my intelligence. And please don’t send your poor relatives or pets to the hospital just to avoid coming in for a fitness consultation.

When you told me that you wanted to lose 30-40 pounds of unhealthy fat, did they magically melt away overnight? Did you miraculously have to stop taking your blood pressure medication right after you set up that consultation appointment?

As for commitment; when someone decides to not even sit through a free consultation, that tells me that their commitment to a fit and healthy lifestyle is non-existent. These people have no true desire to change their health issues; they would just rather complain about them and do nothing.
Now that the New Year is approaching I’m sure that I will get an influx of inquiries about my services, but how many people are truly ready for the commitment to change or are honest enough with themselves to take the extra step.

A healthy lifestyle is a choice and is a journey, not a sprint. If you are honest enough with yourself you will realize the health or weight problems you have did not happen overnight, and they are not going to magically disappear overnight either. It will take time and commitment to truly change your life.

Each time we take on a new client we encounter a new set of circumstances, a new personality, a new history and a new Journey. We then design a program of appropriate exercises to achieve the new client’s goals.

Each new client has been honest enough with themselves to realize that they need help in achieving the fit and healthy lifestyle they desire. And they are willing to make the commitment to make it happen.

Can you say the same thing about yourself?