A Note on Language

By: Michael Beiter

We should set goals with positive language and careful self-talk if we want a chance to stay consistent.

For example, my client just told me he kept working at his nutrition and the gym before six am so that he "wouldn't turn back into a fat fuck."

I asked him to reframe his goal to be more positive. So we went into all the things he likes about his routine. "My goal in getting up before dawn and going to the gym is to connect with my fellow gym mates through movement. I mind my food because it calms me to know where I stand with what I've eaten during the day instead of guessing."

When it's 5:30 in the morning, 2 hours before the sun comes up, it's cold, and the last thing you want to do is be awake, you're going to find it much easier to get to the gym and hit your macros if your goal is to connect and feel calmer, not because you don't want to be a fat fuck.

One goal set is accurate and additive. Going through with a workout and food tracking adds to this person’s experience. The second set is vague and negative. Going through with a workout and food tracking seem obligatory, joyless, and like torture in the second framing.

Words matter, and the ones we use to talk to ourselves and motivate behavior must be chosen carefully.