Proactive or reactive?

Have you ever had a bad day, felt crappy, or had someone say something not-so-nice to you? And then you decided, well, I should probably make myself feel better, so I’ll eat _________. Yeah, me too.

Then let’s step back and let our rational mind take over. How does eating something “bad” make a bad situation better or resolved? It doesn’t! But it can be really hard to remember that when you’re in a moment of being frustrated, cranky, or ill.

This is similar to when a friend or family member critiques something about you or your life, you take it personally, and put up the defensive rather than hearing them out and wondering if maybe they’ve got a point.

When it comes to your fitness and health goals, you want to try to have a proactive mindset vs. a reactive mindset. Proactive mindset means that you will already know what the *right* decision is for any given situation and you stick to it no matter what. You have a bad day. Your boss yells at you and your kids are driving you crazy. The first thing you’ll want to do is skip your workout and choosing a nutritious dinner.

Having a ​reactive mindset​ allows us to buy into our excuses and stories, even temporarily give up on our goals. Doing those things to take care of ourselves always seem to be first on the list to go.

Instead, view these things as non-negotiable, so that no matter what your day looks like, these things are happening regardless.

Proactive is having a plan and having a plan is what leads to long-term success. Being reactive in any situation is typically not helpful.

So, what’s your plan? I’m here to help!