January 26, 2025

Just Do It! Motivational Tips From Mel Robbins

While 2024 certainly had its challenges, it was a very special year. In addition to two healthy grand babies, Mojo celebrated its 15th anniversary, we won our 3rd MLT “Best Fitness Class” award and I had the continued blessing of sharing my craft of choreography with hundreds of friends, local and across the globe.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could press pause and our lives could stay still for a little bit longer? I sure would!

Unfortunately, that’s not reality. Our healthiest, happiest, and most fulfilling lives happen when we keep moving forward and keep growing. Like a well-cared-for garden, weeding is part of the drill. The new year is a wonderful time to assess old habits/energy in our lives that are working against us and need to be tweaked or eliminated.

Whether it’s too many cocktails, desserts, or sedentary moments in front of Netflix every week, acknowledging and eliminating a lifestyle tweak is HARD.

I’ve been forced to implement a variety of gut-related diet tweaks this year. While the changes are minor in the grand scheme of life, it hasn’t been easy! Switching out cream for oat milk, avoiding cheese plates (sadness!) giving up my beloved sparkling water, and avoiding spicy food (acid issues) has been disheartening, but I gotta admit, my gut and my skin are thrilled about it!

Do you have intolerances or habits you would like to shed, but you are in denial? Resisting change does not mean you are weaker than the average person. Your fears are real. In fact, scientists have compared the process of breaking habits to the general stages of grief:

Sadness: Experiencing feelings of sadness, loss of motivation, and discouragement as “need to change” behaviors are acknowledged
Denial: We may refuse to acknowledge that the habit is harmful or find reasons to procrastinate rather than change.
Anger: We may feel anger when we realize we need to change or feel resentful toward anyone who suggests we change.
Bargaining: We may rationalize excuses for our behavior, such as “I’m too busy to exercise”, “I deserve this treat”, or “I’m getting old, it’s part of the drill”
Depression: We may be afraid of the unknown, filled with self-doubt regarding the effort required to change.
Acceptance: aka. Habit Breaking! Accepting the change, finding new ways to move forward with a renewed, stronger sense of self.

Yikes, that was pretty deep, but the reason for that analogy is that change is hard for everyone. It’s up to you to start the ball rolling, and JUST DO IT

Mel Robbins is a gifted communicator. When I need a shot of reality, she nails it every time.
There is a treasure trove of “Mel-isms”, but when it comes to fueling ourselves with the energy to change, I’d like to share some that have helped me. I hope it will help you too :-)

Mel, from a recent podcast;
“One of the most inspiring expressions out there is from NIKE’s, “Just Do It” campaign. If it was easy, the saying would be, “Do It”. The “Just” in the phrase acknowledges the humanity in the decision and how we need to rely on ourselves to make it happen, even if it’s really hard.

Mel, on letting go of fear:
“Fear is a liar. It will tell you that it’s too difficult, that you’re not worth it, that you’ll fail. Don’t listen to it. The only way to overcome fear is to face it head-on. No one is coming to save you. When you set goals, when you have an intention about something you want to change, your brain helps you.

Mel’s 5-Second Rule: It sounds too good to be true, but I’ve been doing it and it works!
“Count backward from five, then physically move toward your goal. This could help with getting out of bed in the morning, deciding not to eat a sugary snack, making a cold call etc. Don’t think, just do.

Mel on waking up early:
Stop hitting the snooze button! Count 5.4.3.2.1 and get UP. The second you start hesitating, the longer you stay in bed, the more you start overthinking, scrolling and lose your motivation for the day. Getting out of bed and starting the day early is a micro-action that starts the momentum for the day. Either you run the day or the day runs you.

Mel on prioritizing yourself:
Stop waiting for permission to prioritize yourself. You deserve it. You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first. The most important relationship you have is with yourself.”

Mel on embracing imperfection:

Focus on Progress, Not Perfection: Celebrate your progress, even if it’s not perfect. Be Kind to Yourself: Don’t beat yourself up for not being perfect. Accept that you’re human and that setbacks are normal. You can’t control how you feel, but you can control how you act.

Lost Your Mojo?
We ALL have one time or another (Remember Austin Powers?)

No one can find it for you and the motivation wxill not simply appear. It’s up to YOU to put on those sneakers and take those baby steps (kicks and shimmies) forward. It will not be easy. If it was, EVERYONE would be fit, healthy and happy.