We're all guilty of being our own worst critics and punishing ourselves.  And unfortunately it starts at an early age.  

I was teaching my high grade Junior Kung Fu students this afternoon and going through what will be expected of them at their next grading, a few of them are close to taking their black belts.  Over the past few weeks we have changed focus to the basics.

It can be a little boring going through the basics when all they want to do is be a ninja and kick while performing a spinning somersault or squeeze their friends little finger in a mystical way so they can't move / wet themselves.  But the basics are very important to get right and keep practising if they are going to be well rounded martial artists.

One of my students told me that they were struggling with remembering some of the things because they had a poor memory.  

Another told me that they were worried about the grading because they weren't fit enough.

The problem here was that they were both telling themselves a story and with every telling making it more true.  My answer was to go back to basics, lay out a plan in front of them to show them how they were in a much better position than they believed and where to go to from there.

We all do it.  Tell ourselves something so often that it becomes our truth.  I used to believe I wash;t very good at remembering names and started using it as an excuse to not even try.  Why bother when I was going to forget any way?

I went back to basics and developed a system to help me remember.  Most importantly I told myself a different story - that I needed to be better at remembering names rather than looking at the negative aspect.

What stories do you tell yourself?

Performance at work, isn't your fault and everybody else is working against you.

That no diet works for you because you've tried them all.

That you are too unfit or big to join a gym or class.

It doesn't really matter what it is, it can be changed.  You simply need to take responsibility for your actions, get back to basics and plan your route.

It's one of the reasons why our members are so successful.  We plan their route from exactly where they are starting from and help them get back to basics with their nutrition and exercise plans.  

Ours isn't the only way but it is a very good way that helps you gain control of negative aspects of your behaviour by putting you in contact with others that are ready to make the necessary changes.

Starting on Monday 1st September our next block of bootcamp will be going right back to basics and setting strong foundations to finish the year on a high.  If you would like to join us, you can apply here:

http://www.achievebootcamp.co.uk/when/application-form/

Darren "your health sat nav" Checkley