How to Stop Starting Over and Actually Take Action

Nikkiey: If you're struggling to master these habits, don't try to be a perfectionist. That's probably what's tripping you up. You feel you have to be perfect with your macros on day one. That ain't gonna happen. You feel you have to be perfect with your schedule with workouts on week one. That ain't gonna happen.

What's up, you guys? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, co-founder and brand personality of WarriorBabe, where we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I'm your host, Nikkiey Stott, and welcome to episode number 11, all about helping you guys focus on taking action and not being stuck in motion.

So I'm just gonna dive right into it. I think it's safe to say, with everything out there, it's so easy to get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan for changing your body composition, right? The fastest way to lose weight, the best program to build muscle, the best booty program to get a booty that looks good, the best plan for workouts. It's so easy to get bogged down trying to find the optimal plan for change.

Let me ask you guys, how many of you lasted two to three months within programs before dropping out and trying something new? Maybe even less than that. This is the thing. So many of you and so many women are focused on figuring out the best approach. And like I said, it's not your fault. There's so many things out there catching your attention, saying this is the best of that, this is the best of this.

But the thing with diving into all of these things and trying to find the best plan for change is that you never get around to taking action long enough in one of those things, okay? And this is the difference between being in motion and taking action. They sound similar, but they are not the same.

When you're finding all of these things and you're seeing the best thing to this and the X to this, the majority of people stay here, stuck in motion. They're planning, they're learning, they're strategizing, they're seeing all of these things and they're like, okay, this is all the things that I have to do. Those are all good things. But being stuck in motion, learning and planning and strategizing what your next move is going to be, is not going to produce the result that you want, right?

There's so many people inside of programs that just constantly learn, constantly plan, constantly strategize. They get amped to start on a Monday. This is a perfect example. They buy the program, they get amped to start on a Monday, but then they fail to take the action. And they constantly do this over and over and over again. They're constantly starting, right? AKA, they're constantly stuck in motion. They're learning what this program is about. They're going through all of the content. They go through all of the workout content. They get amped to start tomorrow's workout, but they never take the action to do it.

I've seen this many, many times. They buy the program and they don't do anything for six months. They buy the program and then a year later, they pop up in a community and they're like, I haven't done anything for the last 12 months. I've just been going through the content, or I've been listening to X, Y, and Z. And they have never taken the action in that 12 months or six months. So those guys are stuck in motion.

Action is a type of behavior that will deliver the outcome. Motion will never produce a result. So clearly, people that buy the program and don't do anything for six or 12 months, there's no results to be found in there. Maybe the result of learning more, but learning isn't going to get you anywhere. You got to take the action. Action is a type of behavior that will deliver the outcome.

So for example, if I outline an entire monthly workout that I want to do, or I bought into the program and I have the entire monthly workout that I need to do, that's motion. That is motion. If I actually go through with doing all of the weekly workouts, say I'm set for five days to work out and do the strength training program, and I do it, that's action.

If I plan an entire week of macros in MyFitnessPal, that's motion. I see so many women doing this. So many women. Which is an awesome strategy. It's a strategy. It's motion. They strategize their entire week. They plan it out in MyFitnessPal. It's beautiful. But it being in MyFitnessPal is not going to produce the result for you. You taking action on packing those meals, preparing those meals, bringing them to work with you. Your friend says they want to go out to lunch and you say no because you already have your meal plan. That's action, right?

If you search for a better diet plan or read a few books on a topic that you're trying to learn about, maybe it'd be hormones, your period while strength training, X, Y, and Z, that's motion. You're learning about this stuff. You're reading about this stuff. You're finding the better diet plan. You actually taking action on what you're learning with hormones, you actually eating a healthy meal continuously, that's action.

And I just want to break through to you guys. Maybe you've been stuck on starting over and over and over again. I'm going to explain why I think that happens in a second. But I just want to break through to you guys. I just want you guys to stop being stuck in that and just start taking action, even if the action is messy.

So motion is useful, right? Motion can be useful. You learning all of these things, you strategizing your week, X, Y, and Z. But it will never produce an outcome by itself. It doesn't matter how many times you go up to a personal trainer inside of the gym. You see them helping other people and those people are getting the results. It doesn't matter how many questions you ask that person. That motion will never get you in shape.

It doesn't matter how much money you pay for a program. That motion will not produce the results you want. Like I said, people pay for programs and they don't do anything for 6 to 12 months. And clearly there's no production of results in that time. So you paying for all the programs, that motion will not produce a result. Only the action of working out will get the result that you're looking to achieve. Only the action of hitting your macros, because it's a methodology that I believe in, will get the result that you're looking to achieve with building muscle and changing your body composition and losing body fat.

So for example, inside of WarriorBabe, WarriorBabes know to their core, a high percentage of them, that action is what it takes to generate results. The best clients of our community, we don't have to hunt down to complete their workouts. We don't have to hunt them down and be like, hey, where are your check-ins for the week? Or talk about why they didn't hit their macros for the week. We have high standards of taking action and we hold our women to that. And that is why they are so successful. Especially in our VIP program. We do not let women have any type of excuse that is going to hinder them getting the result of who they want to be and the results they want to have. Okay? But I do see some women inside of our Blueprint program, that I'm speaking to, who buy the program and don't do anything for 6 to 12 months.

So if motion doesn't lead us to any type of result, why do so many people do it? Sometimes many do it because they actually have to plan or they actually have to learn more, which is fucking awesome. Like I said, it's useful, but it will not produce the result. But more often than not, people do it because motion allows us to feel like we're making progress without running the risk of failure.

So I just spoke to this a couple of seconds ago, where I said I think there's a reason why people always start over, or are always trying to start, and they don't do anything for 6 or 12 months. I think it's because they run the risk of experiencing failure. And nobody wants to feel that, right? So they stay in motion, because motion actually helps you feel like you're making some sort of progress.

Think back to how many times you planned to start on Monday. You did all of your things that weekend that set you up for a successful week ahead, but you didn't do it. Right? Or you talked to that personal trainer, but you were afraid to actually start. The personal trainer gave you all of this great insight and answered all of your questions. And you had solid ground and tools and resources to get started, but you didn't actually start. And it's because many are afraid of failing.

Most of us are huge experts at avoiding criticism. The majority of people are huge experts at avoiding criticism. It doesn't feel good to fail or to be judged publicly, right? So many people avoid situations where that might happen. For example, you started the same process of losing weight and strength training 10 times. And your family or friends say, oh, this again. Because maybe you didn't successfully follow through on something before. They say, do you think you're going to follow through this time? They may not even say it. Some will, some won't. But their body language says it all when you're trying to start something new and they roll their eyes. And that's the biggest reason people slip into motion rather than taking action. Because they want to delay failure.

Look, I just want to let you know that you planning and strategizing and doing all those things on the weekend, and then taking action on a Monday, you get your workout done, you get your macros in, that's the action, right? That's all that matters, actually. That is all that matters. On Monday, you took that action.

Maybe two or three days later, something happens. You are stressed and you have a couple glasses of wine. I just saw this in our WarriorBabe community. You're not failing, okay? If you allow that to consistently keep happening and then you're trying to start over and over and over again, yeah. But the thing is, okay, you're stressed, you had a couple glasses of wine. Don't allow that to continue the next day and roll into three months and six months. Get back at it the next day. Okay?

Technically, people consider that to be a failure. It's not a failure. You took the action on Monday. Maybe you took the action on Tuesday. That's awesome. That's all I want you to do. But know that at some point along your journey, you're going to have some bumps. You're going to make some mistakes. And you may fail. It is inevitable. You are not perfect. Okay?

But as long as you pick up the next day and you plan for success, and you start acting more like the person that you want to become. Because the person that you want to become, which I shared in episode, I think, four, which was a bomb episode, one of my favorites, you guys. That person that you want to become isn't going to be subject to that wine and falling into old bad habits and elongating the road to the destination they want to get to. No, they're going to pick up the next day and they're going to do the supporting actions. They're going to meal prep. They're going to hit their macros. They're going to go to the gym. They're going to get their workout done the next day.

So you're not a failure. Just because you messed up one day of your week, you're not a failure. Like I said before, as long as you win the majority of the time.

Hey, hey. Just want to drop a huge appreciation to you guys listening to the show. It means a lot. I hope you guys are enjoying it. And there's so much more to come with it. If you are enjoying it, hit the subscribe button. I'd appreciate that tons. And also, it would help this podcast reach others who need to hear these messages too. Thanks so much, guys. Let's get back to the show.

But going back to the whole being in motion thing. It's so easy to be in motion because you convince yourself that you're still making progress. You think, I brainstormed my meals for the week, this is all coming together. I bought this new program and have my workouts ready to go for the week. Progress made, right? People buy all these programs and they're like, progress made, here we go. Yet you don't take action on eating all those meals and completing all those workouts for 6 or 12 months.

Motion makes you feel like you're getting things done. But really, you are just preparing to get something done. And when preparation, you guys, becomes a form of procrastination, you need to change something. So if you're constantly starting over and starting over and starting over, and you're preparing all of your meals and you're preparing the workout schedule for the week, but you don't do anything about it, that's just a form of procrastination. And in that instance, you need to change something. Because you're just going to get more of the same.

You don't want to merely be planning. You want to be actionably practicing. What I mean by that is, if you want to master the habit of tracking macros, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, doing all the things that are in alignment with your goals, hitting all of your workouts, succeeding with your goals, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection.

You are not perfect. Like I said earlier, you are going to mess up. You are going to make mistakes. You are going to hit bumps in the road. And you are going to fail. But the key here, obviously, like I said, is taking action. Tattoo action on yourself. Write action on your palm. Just be reminded daily: action. Action. Is this a supporting action? Is this not a supporting action? Is this going to get me to my goals? Is this not going to get me to my goals? Have it there. That would be a nice little reminder.

But if you want to master all of these new habits, all of these things that are supporting you, like I said, the key to start is repetition, not perfection. You just need to practice a new habit over and over and over again. You need to track macros over and over again.

I'll tell you, macros at first is like riding a bike with your training wheels on. You got to learn it. It's a skill set. You're learning all about food. You're learning about portion sizes. You're basically playing Tetris, trying to fit your macros into your day, right? And so you just need to practice that over and over and over again. And I'll tell you, you're going to get to the point where you don't have the training wheels on anymore and you're fucking flying on your bike. It's so true. It just becomes second nature to you. But you have to practice it over and over and over again. You have to just do repetition after repetition after repetition. You don't have to be perfect, right?

Think of all your new habits, tracking macros, water, sleep, all these things, as reps in a workout, and take the action. And look, if you're struggling to master these habits, don't try to be a perfectionist. That's probably what's tripping you up. You feel you have to be perfect with your macros on day one. That ain't going to happen. You feel you have to be perfect with your schedule with workouts on week one. That ain't going to happen, right?

All that matters is day one, day two, day three, you took some sort of action. You felt that action. You know what that feels like. It feels so good. You get attached to that feeling. Maybe you have a little slip-up later in the week. But you know that's not going to help you get to where you want to go faster. So you revert back to all of the supporting actions, right?

But I guarantee you, trying to be a perfectionist is what's tripping you up. Stop trying to be a perfectionist, right? All you have to do is get all of your reps in and get better and stronger each time. That's the name of the game. That's the name of the mental game when it comes to you understanding how your mind works, so you can have it work in a supportive way that's going to get you to where you want to be.

And the main thing is, don't be afraid of failure. Don't be a perfectionist. Don't keep trying to start over and over and over again because you're afraid of the criticism you may get from your friends and your family. Fuck it. Do the action. Messy action. And just do it over and over and over again. Constant repetition. And you're going to get better. You're going to get stronger.

All right, you guys. I hope you enjoyed that podcast. I absolutely love speaking to that stuff, because I know that if you are open-minded and you understand what I'm saying, it's going to help you in so many ways. So the only thing that I can ask you guys is, you're listening to this podcast, you're hearing all this mindset stuff. Don't just listen until you're blue in the face. Actually start taking action on this stuff. The way that I'm going to be able to help you help yourself is by you taking action on everything you're learning here, everything that you're listening to. And you're going to get the results by doing it. Okay. So that's all I ask. Go take the action. And I'll see you guys next time.

Real quick. The only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask you to do is leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds. And it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else.