Everything was going good and then we all stopped in our tracks. What is that smell?? Oooooh that smell. Don't you smell that smell?
That was quickly followed by. Oh. No.
It was a closet full of sewage. Turns out the people who owned the house before us enjoyed pouring bacon grease down the drain. The plumber estimated it was 5 years worth of grease. That resulted in a huge, disgusting mess.
But out of mess, good can come! So I thought I would share some lessons I learned from cleaning up this travesty.
1. Get the right tools for the job
When I first decided to clean it up, I had a shovel and a broom. Not the weapons of mass cleaning I needed. My dad saved the day by bringing over his ShopVac. Then after I taught my last boot camp of the day, I went by Dollar General and got bleach, degreaser, gloves, and scrubbers. It was on now!
Do you have at least a general idea of what your meals will be today? Do you have healthy foods in your house? It really increases the chances that you will eat them if so. Do you have an exercise plan? Do you need exercise equipment?
2. Don't look ahead to the pain
After my first, failed attempt to clean the mess up I got a little paralyzed. I kept thinking how terrible cleaning that nastiness was going to be. It was messing up other things I had going on that had nothing to do with the sewage.
When you are really out of shape and/or overweight it can seem like you are facing an insurmountable task. You figure why even try? You picture all of the work you will have to do to get there. The days, months, and years of sweat and sacrifice you will have to put in.
You can’t do anything about the future until you get there anyway. Don’t let it stop you from what you need to do TODAY. Stay in the moment, handle the business of right now. Get through your workout, one step, one rep, one spoke at a time. Get in one healthy meal, one healthy piece of food at a time.
I wrote about this more in depth here --->Don't look ahead
3. Do it for someone else
My wife cleaned this mess up the first time it happened. When it happened again, the look on her face was so defeated. Never again!
When I was ankle deep on my hands and knees cleaning that filth, it really didn't bother me because I refused to let that face make a comeback. And this had nothing to do with the fact I didn't get her a present for our 15th anniversary that was the next day. Absolutely nothing...
I had a client who quit smoking for her kids. Another who lost weight because his dad died early from a heart attack. And still another who saw how her unhealthy lifestyle was giving her young children health problems and she completely changed. I've seen so many examples over the years! When you have a purpose that is bigger than your excuses, your chances of success go way up.
4. Put on some music
Got the portable speaker, turned on some music, and blasted my jams the whole time I worked. Made things so much better!
Studies have shown that listening to music while you exercise: allows you to work harder, improves mood, and makes you more resistant to pain and fatigue. Music has even been called a legal performance enhancing drug.
5. Close your mouth, put your head down, and go to work
This held a very practical purpose for me. When I was scrubbing, some of that funk water flew up into my face and almost got into my mouth. Little reminder to keep the soup coolers shut tight.
You get to a point in your workouts where you have to do that too. That point where you think there is no way you can finish. Where you think "I have nothing left!".
Something I tell is my boot camp clients all the time is "5 more seconds!", because you can always get through 5 seconds. Keep pushing and don't let your brain give up before your body does.
6. Embrace the suck
I got to a point in the clean up where I was actually enjoying myself! Down there in the funk with my bucket and scrubber, working on my hands and knees like Cinderella. Or maybe Gingerella. Hate it or enjoy it, I was still going to have to finish the job. I chose to embrace the muck.
Let's face it, exercising and eating healthy can become a grind. Day in, day out. You're tired, sore, and have a million other things going on.
You can approach it as I HAVE to workout, but I prefer to look at it as you GET to workout. I covered that more in depth here if you want details --->Have to workout?
Every morning when you wake up, you get to choose your attitude just like you choose your clothes. Why not pick the best one possible?
I think we could all benefit from keeping this quote in mind:
Peace and bacon grease. Have a great weekend!