Every September, millions of people promise themselves a fresh start. Most will be back where they started within a few weeks. Here’s why.
There’s something about September that still feels like the first day back at school.
Summer is over.
The kids go back.
Work returns to full pace.
And after a few weeks of disrupted routines, many of us look in the mirror and think:
“Right. Time to sort myself out.”
Train more.
Drink less.
Lose some weight.
Get some energy back.
The intentions are genuine.
But there’s a problem.
You probably already know what to do
Most people don’t need more information.
You know exercise is good for you.
You know sleep matters.
You know roughly what you should eat.
You know drinking too much doesn’t help.
So why, if you know all of this, does it keep becoming so difficult to sustain?
September gives you a new calendar.
It doesn’t give you a new understanding.
And that’s why I think we keep asking ourselves the wrong questions.
Instead of:
“What diet should I follow?”
“What training programme should I start?”
“How do I become more disciplined?”
Try asking:
What changed?
Think back to when looking after yourself felt easier.
What was different?
Perhaps you had fewer responsibilities.
Then came children.
A business.
A promotion.
Longer working hours.
An injury.
Poor sleep.
More stress.
Life changed.
And somewhere amongst all of that, your health gradually moved further down the priority list.
That’s not an excuse
Understanding what changed doesn’t remove personal responsibility.
It makes responsibility useful.
I learned this myself.
Despite years in physical training and elite sport, there were periods when I kept thinking another plan would get me back on track.
Eventually, I realised the plan wasn’t the problem.
I was trying to recreate an old version of myself within a life that had completely changed.
That realisation became fundamental to the thinking behind Warrior Wellness Movement and eventually The High Performance Operator.
Because before you decide what needs to change next, it helps to understand what changed in the first place.
So before September starts…
Don’t make another huge promise to yourself.
Give yourself 10 minutes instead.
Think about the last 5 or 10 years.
Your work.
Your family.
Your sleep.
Your health.
Your responsibilities.
Your priorities.
Then answer one question honestly:
What changed?
The answer might be far more useful than another burst of motivation.
So, what changed for you?
Chat soon. Ollie.
#WhatChanged #HealthCreatesCapacity #TheHighPerformanceOperator #SustainablePerformance #WarriorWellnessMovement
