Do What Is Needed, Not What Is Wanted

This week in training with intention we will be discussing doing the things you need to do, not just what you want to do.

If you are a parent there has probably been a time where you have told your kids “No”. Not because you don’t want to give them something, but more so because they didn’t need that something.

As a parent one of our jobs is to help our children learn the difference between what they need and what they want.

Which probably explains 99% of why we argue with our kids.

And this cannot be more true than the argument we have with ourselves when it comes to food choices, workouts and waking up when the alarm goes off. It is in this fight with ourselves, we need to learn what we preach and do what is needed, not what is wanted.

The difference of need and want is so important to understand because it can be the difference between getting to your goals or not. For example, we all understand that we don’t need to eat pizza every night, but the want for this convenient, tasty and satisfying food overpowers the discipline to decide you don’t need it. The reason for this is we want the immediate gratification that satisfies the want, not necessarily the need for discipline for the goals that take time to achieve.

So just like what we tell our children, it’s not about the right now and the immediate gratification, but more so teaching them and ourselves about patience and discipline. These two life skills can have a lasting effect well beyond health and fitness, such as building grit and adversity.

If you take this concept, into our health and fitness journey we can realize that the fight that we have is within our own mind. It’s within all these mini decisions and doing what is needed not what is wanted that will help change your direction faster than you think. So when you have that argument in your own mind about whether you want it or need it, think back on how you would handle your own child when they’re begging for that toy at target or asking for V-Bucks on their Xbox. Try to teach yourself the same principles that you are teaching them so that you can be a stronger and more resilient person for a lifetime.