Then, like clockwork, life gets in the way.

Work gets too busy, you get injured or kids come into your life and your routine goes out the window.

When this cycle keeps repeating itself, it's easy to give up on getting back in shape. Why bother going to the gym if you end up stopping in a few months? Why cut out carbs if you're just going to make exceptions for the holidays?

If you're reading this article, you probably don't want to give up. You understand that if you don't take care of your body, bad things WILL happen. Our health is directly related to what we eat, how much we sleep and how active we are. These elements also help manage our mental health as well.

The best way to get back into shape is to immediately restart your routine. Don't overthink it, just do it. To re-ignite a workout that's motivating, follow these steps:

1. Choose a measurable exercise method and schedule that's so easy and convenient for you that you won't have an excuse to say no (example: 2 push-ups a day)
2. Schedule this exercise on your calendar or tie it to a specific trigger (example: I will do this workout right after I wake up in the morning)
3. Track your progress every time (you can use apps like Momentum)
4. Increase the intensity of the exercise every week (example: next week, I'll do 3 push ups)
5. Continue for 3 months and then choose another exercise regime that's appropriate for your enhanced level of fitness

The most important part is to get started again. What will keep you motivated is knowing that you're making progress so don't forget to measure your progress. In the beginning, the progress will be in the form of increased repetition or weights. As you keep going, positive changes in your physique and energy will help fuel the routine.

Once you stop seeing progress in your current routine, immediately find another routine that can push you further.

If life derails your routine, just restart at step one.

Below is a one-month workout that my good friend, Leighton Kuet at LK Fit, shared with me. I use this routine every time I need to get back into shape and it works very well (especially if I measure my progress after every workout).

Body-weight starter exercise - Recommended frequency - 3 days a week

Week 1:

Superset - 3 reps each exercise with 2-minute rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Pushup
2. Max Pull up
3. Max Sit up
4. Max Burpee

Week 2:

Superset - 3 reps each exercise with 90-second rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Burpee
2. Max Pull up
3. Max Pushup
4. Max Sit up

Week 3:

Superset - 3 reps each exercise with 60-second rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Pull Up
2. Max Pushup
3. Max Burpee
4. Max Sit up

Week 4:

Superset -3 reps each exercise with no rest in between each exercise in the following order.

1. Max Pushup
2. Max Pull up
3. Max Sit up
4. Max Burpee

Leighton has other more customized routines as well based on your goals. If you're interested, reach out to him here.

Photo by E'Lisa Campbell

The post How to get back into shape  appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

At least that’s what I believe and it has served me well.

So why is it that some of them do bad things?

Unthinkable things?

From genocides to bullying

From terrorism to financial fraud

From smoking to working way too much

People, who are generally good, end up doing a spectrum of bad things to others and to themselves.

I used to believe that it was the weakness of these people and their characters that caused them to act poorly. Bad people are just bad people and those who are influenced by their environment or by others are just weak-willed. From my personal experiences, observations and research, I now realize how mistaken I was.

In Philip Zimbardo’s book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, he recounts in detail his famous Stanford Prison Experiment where college students, randomly assigned to be guards and inmates, were transformed in such a shocking way that they had to end the experiment early. Without being told how to behave, the guards naturally became brutal and sadistic while the inmates became resigned and emotionally broken (I recommend reading the book if you’re interested to see how things got to that point and the psychological analysis of why that happened.)

The roles were assigned randomly. The students who played the guards were not bad people. Those who played inmates were not weak-willed. They were both simply changed by the situation they were put in.

The lesson: Good apples in bad barrels become bad apples.

The environment that we are in has a profound effect on our thinking and actions. Most people (I was one of them) believe they can act independently of their environment not realizing how much of their action reflects the values of those around them and the situation they are in.

Why this happens: We all want to belong and gain acceptance from those around us. It’s natural and it happens without our conscious awareness. The clothes that we wear, the way we speak, the car that we buy, these decisions are all made to gain social approval. Even those who fight against the status quo and conformity want to gain acceptance from others fighting against conformity.

Take some time now to think about your own situation and your environment. If you want some guidance follow along with the steps below:

1. Is there something you do that you don’t want to do but seem helpless to stop it? (choose a few of these)
2. Think about your environment (the people around you, the books your read, the culture of your company, the physical objects that surround you, etc.) and find the connection between your undesired behavior and your environment (there is a connection so keep looking until you find it).

Some examples:

People who work late usually do so because everyone else works late. When I was working in Asia, one of the key concepts I learned was “face time” (this was before Apple redefined the word). People would literally stay in the office because everyone else was in the office and if you left early, you would be judged as being lazy or not being a team player regardless if you’ve finished your work or not.

People who consistently fail at their diets usually live in a household filled with junk food or have close friends who have poor diet and exercise habits.

People who put themselves in debt buying luxury goods are usually in an environment where status symbols are necessary to fit in. Those who don't buy the best are ostracized by the group.

“When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.”

- Japanese Proverb

Once you make the connection between your behavior and your environment, recognize that as the main cause for your negative behavior and stop blaming your lack of willpower and discipline.

This doesn’t mean you should blame the environment or your external circumstances and relieve yourself of all responsibility. No matter what you may think or feel, you CHOSE the environment you are in so you are completely responsible for your actions. When you take total responsibility for your life, you give yourself the power you need to move forward.

So what now?

Well we’ve seen how our negative behaviors are linked to our environment. Let’s start putting this tendency to conform to our environment to work for us.

The best way for us to take advantage of this phenomenon is to:

Choose or Create a Better Environment

You've identified something in your environment that is causing your undesired behavior. My question to you is how will you change your environment to get the behaviors that you want?

Common environmental aspects that people can change:

• who you spend your time with
• what you read or watch
• where you live
• where you work
• how you organize your home or office
• the food in your fridge and pantry

I didn't choose my family. 

What a waste to throw away food.

I can't afford to leave my job.

I can't abandon my friends. We've been together since we were young. 

These are legitimate concerns.

So what if you can’t escape your environment?

First, there is no such thing as can’t. You probably don’t want to or don’t know how to.

Second, if you decide that you don’t want to leave your environment because it is doing something positive for you (i.e. a bad job still helps to pay the bills), then you may want to take these steps to plan your escape:

1. Recognize that you’re getting something positive out of your current environment even though it is causing a negative behavior
2. Find alternatives to meet that positive want or need
3. Make a plan to get out of that environment
4. Execute your plan and get out of that environment (you may find The Dreams to Reality Fieldbook helpful for the last 2 steps)

How do you use this method to escape toxic friends or family or both?

Here is an example:

1. What positives are you getting from your friends and family?

You enjoy being with other people and you feel good knowing there are people who look out for you. This is especially true for family members. You feel a sense of obligation to be loyal to your family and friends and you don't want to break that loyalty. Also, you just don't want to be alone. No matter what the reason, recognize and appreciate that you are benefiting from these relationships.

2. What are your options? How can you meet these positives in another way?

You can find new friends who possess the values you want to cultivate, spend less time with existing friends and family or learn to be more comfortable being alone by taking up new hobbies. You can also consider hanging out more with friends and family who are good influences on you.

3. Create a plan to get out of your current environment.

You decide that finding new friends and spending less time with toxic friends and family is a good option. Your plan may include:

• declining group events with toxic friends and family
• attending events or club meetings with people who you believe will have a positive influence on you
• staying away from places where you would run into toxic friends and family
• actively scheduling to meet with friends and family that you do want to see more of

4. Execute your plan

Take action immediately. Schedule to meet with friends next week. Research professional associations and clubs where you'll find like-minded people. Start declining group activities that you know will lead to negative behaviors (i.e. trip to the casino).

Despite knowing that you are heavily influenced by your environment, don’t make excuses for yourself.

Your life is what you make it.

"You're only a victim once. The next time you're an accomplice."

- Naomi Judd

The post Why Good People Do Bad Things appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

If you are getting 7-9 hours of sleep every day, stop reading this article now.

If you're still reading, then you probably want to sleep more but for some reason can't justify it.

Here are the three reasons why you need to sleep more starting tonight:

When You Don't Sleep, You're Wasting Your Life

Many people believe just the opposite: "I need to savor every minute I have. I can sleep when I die." Sleep helps you to process your life experience and knowledge. If you don't sleep enough, you don't retain what you have gone through which means you have just wasted your day getting experience you're not going to recall. How can you savor life when you don't remember it?

Cheaper Than A Gym Membership

When you are sleep deprived, you interrupt the hormones that regulate your appetite which results in an increase in appetite. Similar to when you starve yourself, sleep deprivation causes your body to think you are in an emergency and it will begin to store fat to help you survive. If you are looking to control your weight, get more sleep.

Stay in Control

When I don't get enough sleep, I can't control myself. I am very irritable, I say things that I don't mean and I let my negative feelings (fear, anger, frustration, etc) get the better of me. Many of my good habits get broken and my bad habits creep back in. If you want self-control, 4 hours of sleep is not going to cut it.

There are many more reasons why you should get more sleep but these three alone provide a compelling argument to get to bed. If you think successful people don't need sleep, read my article on How to Sleep Your Way to Success.

Bonus:

In addition to sleeping more, it's helpful to know whether you're an early bird or a night owl to help you manage your energy. The infographic below might also help those of you failing to become morning people to feel less guilty.

Source: AffordableSchools.net

The post The Three Reasons Why You Should Sleep More appeared first on Embrace Possibility.

You are probably reading this because you are interested in losing or controlling your weight. No matter how hard you try, you can't get to the weight you want.

I've got some good news and bad news. The good news is, this short and simple post will show you how to get your desired weight.

The bad news is ... you probably won't believe me.

There are countless methods out there to control your weight and the logic in these methods is the same:

Your weight goes up when you take in more calories than you burn off and your weight goes down when you take in fewer calories than you burn off.

That's it. Nothing more nothing less.

So how can you get the weight you want?

Remember this key idea:

Your current weight is the sum of all your actions in the past year. 

What does this mean?

If you want to control your weight, you have to ... control your actions.

You alone have all the resources necessary to control your weight. You don't need a special diet, a personal trainer, a weight loss drug, etc. All you have to do is take responsibility for your weight and take action to get to where you want to go.

If you are looking to lose weight, find ways to take in fewer calories (healthier diet, proper rest) and/or burn more calories (exercise). More importantly, be aware of what prevents you from eating healthier, sleeping better or exercising more and create a plan to remove those barriers.

Remember: Your current weight is the sum of all your action in the past year. When you change your actions, you change your weight.

You have full control.

The post Only You Can Control Your Weight – Believe It appeared first on Embrace Possibility.