Do the simple things consistently every day 

 

Last week I was away with the Northern Ireland senior men’s squad for 10 days.  This is now my fourth camp with the squad and I am getting to know the players and their routines.

 

I’m very grateful to witness first-hand what it takes to get to the top and more importantly maintain it. 

 

Take players like Stewart Dallas, Johnny Evans, Josh Magennis and Steven Davis, they are all different, but they all do the simple consistently every day.

 

You notice during meal times that these guys are always picking the right option in terms of quantity of food, they make sure their sleep and recovery is on point, and they will do extra gym sessions to help maintain and develop their bodies.

 

Steven Davis, who is now the UK’s most capped football international, will always be found the day after a game in the gym going through his normal routine to make sure his body is ready to perform for the next game. 

 

Nothing these players do is extraordinary, but they do it every day. If they are unable to carry out these routines due to travelling etc they will make sure they catch up on them, or have already pre-empted this happening and made the necessary changes. 

 

This is the same message we should all follow. If you want to achieve your health, fitness and personal goals you must show up every day.

 

Take weight loss for example. If you stick to a healthy calorie deficit every day, then you will lose weight.

 

The issue we have is that we don’t do this every single day. We play catch up or say ‘I’ll start again tomorrow’, which never seems to come around.

 

This is soon followed by blaming something or someone else as to why you didn’t lose weight. You didn’t lose weight or reach your goal because of you, because you didn’t show up every day, especially those days when you didn’t want to do it. 

 

We all know what we have to do but are we willing to do it every day? It’s easy to say ‘yes, of course I am’ but does this mirror up with your action and more importantly your results? If not, then the simple truth of the matter is that you aren’t showing up and maybe you just don’t want it enough. It may sound harsh but it’s the truth. I have fallen into this trap many times.

 

Holding things off until later in the day, week or even month and not reaching the goals I set out to achieve.

 

The thing I have learnt is that I am the only person to blame. I need to take responsibly for my actions and the results I’m not achieving. It is easy to blame family, friends, work and best of all the government for these failings.

 

Don’t worry it’s not all doom and gloom. Rather than relying on others to help you achieve your goals, think of them as bonus support. Surround yourself with the right people who will push you do the simple things consistently every day.

 

You don’t want to be surrounded by negative people or people who will just say what you want to hear. You want people who you know you can trust to help push you along when days are tough, and you need that extra nudge/kick up the back sit to get it done. 

 

Pick one thing that you are going to do every day for the next 30 days and see how much easier it is to achieve your goal.