The Fitter Version of You

Reading time: approx. 5 minutes

Hey Brothers!

Welcome to the LenDentonThrive Letter!

In this week’s edition of the Letter, I want to take a brief departure from the usual topics of food and exercise to focus on the inner game of becoming healthier and fitter. And, I want to share two tools with you that I’ve found to be really helpful in achieving my fitness goals.

In a recent edition, I wrote about how the ThriveLife is built on smart daily practices. These are things that we do everyday that promote our ever-increasing health and fitness. Based on this definition, you could rightly say that daily practices are also habits.

We all have lifestyles, and our daily practices (habits) are the building blocks of those lifestyles. If we follow healthy practices, we’re building healthy lifestyles. Conversely, unhealthy practices lead to unhealthy lifestyles. 

That’s simple enough, right? Unfortunately, habits aren’t that simple.  

Healthy habits can be hard to create, and bad habits can be hard to break. (I know this from personal experience, and I bet you do, too!)

Habit change is hard!

Creating Real Change

Whenever we decide to make a change for a more desirable outcome (lose weight, eat better, work out more, whatever) we tend to reach for one of the most common tools in our change toolbox - we set a GOAL. Then, we summon our willpower and discipline to help us accomplish that goal.

In reality, this approach usually has less than a 50% chance of succeeding. One of the major reasons for that low probability of success is often due to our previously established daily practices. 

Here’s an example: Let’s say you want to lose 20 pounds, so you set a goal to eat better. Through your willpower, you cut back on second helpings and desserts. But then, there are your daily habits. You continue to stop at the local coffee shop every morning on the way to work to pick up your favorite high-calorie latte. And, you can’t miss the multi-keg tailgate party for your local team every weekend.

Over a couple of months, your enthusiasm for your new goal declines as your long-time daily practices hold you under their control.  Willpower goes down and the goal is quietly retired. 

I’ve experienced this failure of goal setting many times before. Then, I found two tools that have made a significant difference in my ability to achieve change in my life, and especially in the area of my health and fitness. I found both of these tools in an excellent book by James Clear called Atomic Habits.

So, let’s check them out.

Your Fitter Self

According to Clear, many people begin the process of change by focusing on what they want to achieve. This is the process of goal-setting we discussed above. A more effective way to change is to start by focusing on who we wish to become. Clear calls this identity-based change.

This was the breakthrough for me! 

When I started, Real Len was a 248-pound guy whose doctor called him a “poster child for a heart attack or stroke.” 

But then, I was able to envision a fitter version of myself that I wanted to become. Fitter Len was a 175-pound guy who ate well and worked out daily.  Fitter Len looked good, and felt good, with no health issues. 

Transforming Real Len into Fitter Len became my goal.

This fitter version of myself helped me to accelerate the change I was seeking. When I encountered a tasty, but unhealthy food that I wanted (tacos??), I would ask myself: Would Fitter Len eat this? And, when I didn’t want to get up for my early morning cardio, I’d tell myself: Fitter Len is going to be out there. Now get moving!

I used the vision and imagination of my fitter self to replace the willpower that I had. Willpower is a limited resource. Imagination and aspiration are not!  

Systems Over Goals

The second tool that I discovered in Atomic Habits was the concept that systems are more effective than goals. 

Goals are about results. Systems are about the process that leads to those results. If you choose the system wisely, your chances of reaching the outcomes you’re seeking go up dramatically. 

Another way to think about this is - systems over willpower! 

If you choose the right systems, change becomes a lot easier. This became one of the key ideas behind the ThriveLife. I focused on processes (systems) that made the outcomes easier to achieve. It was about finding smarter, not harder solutions to weight loss and becoming fitter. I developed my own systems for eating (Eating Smarter) and exercising (Moving Smarter).

The results were surprising. Fitter Len became a reality!

Within 7 months, I’d lost more than 70 pounds! My belly fat was gone and my energy levels were through the roof! And, my doctor congratulated me on the transformation from poster child to Fitter Len. 

Fitter Len is still following the same systems today.

So, here’s a question for you: Can you see the fitter version of YOU!

Thanks for stopping by. 

(And, if you get the chance, check out Atomic Habits. It’s more of a toolbox than a book!)

Thanks for reading this week.

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