October 1st. The beginning of the 4th quarter. It’s the final push to make 2024 a great, great year for all of us.
Problem though – it’s Quarter 4.
You know what Q4 seems to have?
EVERYTHING. It’s the busy season. It’s the complete opposite of the dog days of summer.
Ramped up schedules.
Busy extra curricular activities.
Parties.
Family get togethers.
More trips.
Pressure at work.
Holy crap more trips again.
It is so much! How are you supposed to get it all done? How are you supposed to do all of the things you want to do, still take care of yourself, and still take care of others?
Oof. It’s not easy.
But (there’s always a but, right?), it is doable on a certain continuum. It’s a matter of adjusting your expectations along this continuum.
If you’ve been around a while, you’ve heard me talk about the dimmer switch mentality. This is simply a metaphor to work on adjusting your expectations to fit the capacity you currently have (or are projecting).
Most of us have a light switch mentality in general, but it really shows when things get busy or difficult. It’s the all or nothing mindset. We can shine bright when things are simple, but switch completely off when stressors show.
You can’t be all in forever and expect to be consistent, and you of course can’t be off and expect to maintain consistency either.
That’s where the dimmer mentality comes in.
If you were shining at 90-100% brightness but the schedule is about to get nuts, we can adjust the brightness down to 50-60%. You’re still lighting up the room, but you’re not using all of your energy. You have that 40-50% budgeted away for all of the other things you have to take care of.
Shoot, even if you bring it down to 20-30%, you’re *still* on. This is huge, because in this crazy busy time of year, you can still prove to yourself that you don’t have to put fitness on the back burner.
Again, 20-30% on is still on and just as good as 90-100% in the grand scheme of things. This is so crucial and huge for your longterm development to understand. Just showing up in some form, no matter how big or small, will keep you from ever turning off again.
So what does a practical application of the dimmer switch mentality look like?
5 days a week of fitness down to 3.
Tracking total calories instead of perfect macros (or just tracking protein).
Cutting out extra fitness to make time for rest.
Purchasing pre-made meals so you can mitigate cooking stress.
There are lots of ways you can adjust the brightness. Another great way is to just stop being so damn hard on yourself. You’re good, boo!
I know, I know. I’m a trainer. I’m supposed to be “rah rah no excuses just work harderrrrrrrr DISCIPLINEEEEE!”
But that’s what a bad trainer would say.
A good trainer is going to continually remind you that long term consistency is the biggest key to a long and healthy life, and also remind you that it’s OK to dim your fitness lights for a short period of time to help you get through a busy season.
This time of year does not last forever. You’ll get through this, and you’ll be able to crank that dimmer switch back up in no time.
Enjoy this time of year. Enjoy the lack of 100* days, and the crisp mornings (if they ever decide to show up). Enjoy a scary movie by the fire. Embrace a slightly slower fitness schedule, but don’t turn your light all the way off.
-Clark
