TAKING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR HEALTH & FITNESS
                         
                                                       JAMES A. HUNTER, MS, LPC, NSCA-CPT
                                           
                                                                 "Thinking & Perspective is Key" 
                                                

* Although having a personal trainer assist you with developing a safe and effective exercise program will greatly increase your chances for success, at the end of the day it is up to you to make those necessary "life style" changes in order to be successful for the duration of your life. You must do your part. You must be an invested person in your health. You invest in yourself by making the effort to eat healthy and giving of your time to exercise.  

* Getting into shape or becoming more physically fit is a "process."  There is no magic pill or quick fix solution that will give you a life time of benefits.

In order to achieve optimal health and fitness you must do the following:

1. Take control over your diet and what you are putting into your body.
2. You must become physically active and engage in exercise as part of your 
     daily, weekly, and yearly way of living. You must make time for exercise. 
    There is always a way regardless of your schedule. Where there is a will there
     is a way!
3.  You must be accountable to yourself by being honest when you make
     mistakes or bad choices that have negative impacts on your health. 
 

                       THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR IN THINKING

The Fundamental Attribution Error is simply people's tendency to automatically take credit for those positive things that are said about them or are related to them. When a positive behavior or characteristic is associated with a person, the person makes what is called an "internal attribution" meaning that it's "because of them" and "they are the source" for explaining that positive behavior. For example if a person studied hard and makes an "A" on a test, they attribute the success to themself because it was their efforts that made them successful. On the other hand, people also have a tendency to automatically blame those negative or unfavorable behaviors associated with themself on other people or situations or do what is called making "external attributions." The "It's never my fault" mentality. So for good things about them, they attribute it to themself and for those unfavorable things about themself that may cause them to fail, they attribute it to external things that they want to be perceived as outside their control. This is a convenient way for the mind to deal with anxiety or guilt related to making poor choices or behaving in ways that are "self-defeating." 

* Logically if your behavior is responsible for those favorable good things about yourself then the opposite must also be true too. That being you are also responsible for those poor choices that you make, that cause you to not be successful or fail. The source of control in both situations is "YOU" in most cases. We want it both ways. We want take credit for all our good choices and characteristics and blame the bad ones on outside factors. In order to be successful you must start being accountable to yourself and being honest about the choices you have made in the past that have contributed to where you are at in your life today. 

* I know what you are thinking. There are some situations that may be out of your control and this may be the case for certain things. You however do have control over how you choose to react to situations that are out of your control. 

Two Examples of two clients and responsibility:

1. Jane Doe is somewhat overweight and had knee surgery a year ago due to an automobile accident. Over the last year she has gained 30 pounds. She feels guilty about the weight gain and often makes "external attributions" for this weight gain. She often will bring up the fact that she was in a automobile accident last year and had knee surgery. Despite the fact that over the last year Jane Doe has increased her calorie intake, quit exercising, been eating out daily, and making poor food choices, she doesn't take any responsibility for her part in contributing to her 30 pound weight gain. She feels more comfortable with attributing or blaming the weight gain on an "external factor" that she can perceive as not having any control over. That being the automobile accident last year. By doing this, Jane Doe feels less anxious and guilty. It is her way of rationalizing away her part in becoming overweight. This fundamental attribution error is a type of defense mechanism people use to avoid any personal responsibility and is a sure way to guarantee failure. We must be willing to "grow up" be adults and take charge  of those things we do have control over. Clearly there are many things Jane Doe did have control over that did contribute to her weight gain.

2. John Doe is a middle age man who has a family history of overweight men and also a family history of adult onset diabetes type 2. Fearing he may be at risk for these health problems, John Doe has been exercising by walking 30 to 45 minutes five times a week and doing resistance training 3 time a week. Recently John Doe was in an automobile accident which was not his fault. He was hit by a drunk driver. As as result of this accident John Doe had to have reconstructive knee surgery. Realizing that his mobility was going to be affected for a period of time and realizing he had no control over the exact time it would take to rehabilitate his knee, John Doe took an inventory of those things that he did have control over. John Doe realized that although he couldn't fully use his right leg due to the knee surgery, he could still do other exercises such as continuing to workout his upper body. John Doe realized that he still had control over his diet and decided that he would really need be even more cautious about his total calorie intake and food choices now that he couldn't be walking as much for the next few months. During this time, John Doe discovered he could still get his heart rate up by doing low impact water aerobics. He found a new way to burn calories.  After the full 6 months it took to get John Doe back to walking briskly again, he was pleased that he had not gained any additional weight and that he was able to maintain some degree of physical activity. In John Doe's situation, he did an inventory of those things that he did have control over and worked from there. The source of control for his health in this situation was John Doe and not an external factor like a drunk driver crashing into him. John Doe succeeded because he took "personal responsibility" for his health and doing everything he could to produce the desired outcome.

I want you to succeed! I believe in you and your ability to overcome. Because I do care about you and your success, I will challenge you to grow as a person and teach you to examine and when necessary to "challenge" your thinking and attitudes that may be holding you back. We may not all be built equally in terms of what type of physical body we are born with, but that is no excuse to not make an effort to be the "best version" of what you can be. 

There are modifiable risk factors that people have control over. Examples include  behaviors such as cigarette smoking, the food we eat, physical activity level, and other unhealthy lifestyle choices in general. We have control over the types of foods and sources we choose for our nutrition. Your diet and nutrition is the most important factor in achieving success. Eating correctly is not a fad or something that you do occasionally to try to drop some quick pounds. Eating a balanced and healthy diet needs to be a permanent life style change and a way of living your life. There are no exceptions here. If you want optimal health you need to give your body the fuel and nutrition it needs and you need to become physically active. You can try to rationalize unhealthy behavior all you want, however at the end of the day it will catch up to you. It always does unless you change your ways. 

For encouragement and assistance with developing a winning attitude contact me through this website or e-mail me at the address listed on my business card below.