Fitness guru behind the viral ‘Insanity’ craze reveals the 11 life lessons he lives by and how they will turn YOU into a success story too!
- Home workout star Shaun T shares 11 ways to make yourself feel better
- Embrace your fears, try new things and let it out with a scream sometimes
- Low confidence or feeling stressed can stop you reaching your potential
Being outside your comfort zone, changing your posture and taking a walk in the park could all help you feel like a stronger and more successful person, reveals fitness coach Shaun T.
He is one of the world’s most famous fitness coaches and has revolutionised the way people workout at home.
He first started his fitness career in 2007 with his best selling at home workout program Hip Hop Abs which married his love of dance and working out without a single crunch or sit-up.
He then released Insanity in 2009, which is a 60 day cardio workout regime that revolutonised home workouts.
Since then, Shaun T has been travelling the world to transform the lives of others with his workout programs, podcast and personal appearances to promote healthy fitness.
Shaun T’s 11 rules could help you feel less stressed, more able to reach your potential and more able to enjoy day-to-day life
By opening up in his new book T is for Transformation, he hopes to help readers transform themselves into their ‘best self’ by overcoming mental obstacles.
The team at Healthista has picked out Shaun T’s best life lessons here:
11 life lessons from Shaun T anyone can use to evolve and grow
1. Embrace the chaos
Life is full of chaos no matter how much you plan and prepare.
There will always be something that comes up out of no where when you’re trying to plan a birthday party or schedule out your day.
Shaun T calls this ‘bananas.’ He writes that the chaos of life is something that comes in bunches and might require quick changes in order to address them.
Not only is this an uncomforting thought for some people, it’s often difficult to finish tasks and make decisions when chaos comes into our lives.
Shaun T recommends making the chaos work in your favour, either by learning about each element of the situation or focusing on what aspects of the situation you can control, that way your decisions can be made to benefit you.
Take out tip: Focus on what you can control and let the rest happen.
2. Be comfortable with discomfort
This lesson is all about reaching outside your comfort zone.
This is similar to embracing the chaos, but instead of letting life’s bananas catch you off guard, Shaun T suggests blatantly putting yourself somewhere new and uncomfortable.
This could be physically, such as holding a plank for longer or starting up a cycling class.
It can also be anything like trying new foods or travelling to a new exotic area you wouldn’t normally choose.
10 STRESS-BUSTING TIPS
Manage your time more effectively
We waste a lot of time doing unimportant tasks so prioritise your day and do the important jobs first. The unimportant ones can wait, and often they will disappear completely leaving you time to do other things.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle
If we eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and ensure we get adequate rest our body is better able to cope with stress should it occur.
Know your limitations and do not take on too much
We cause ourselves a great deal of stress because we like people to like us and do not want to let people down. We then end up doing more than we should. Learn to be assertive and how to say no without upsetting or offending people.
Find out what causes you stress
Take time to discover what is worrying you and try to change your behaviour to reduce it.
Avoid unnecessary conflict
Don’t be too argumentative. Is it really worth the stress? Look for win – win situations. Look for a solution to a dispute where both parties can achieve a positive outcome.
Accept the things you cannot change Changing a difficult situation is not always possible. If this proves to be the case recognise and accept things as they are.
Take time out to relax and recharge your batteries
You will perform much better after a break and easily make up the time you used relaxing.
Find time to meet friends
Friends help us see things in a different way. The activities we engage in with friends usually help us relax and we will often have a good laugh. It boosts the immune system which is often depleted during stress.
Try to see things differently
If something is bothering you try to see it differently. Talk over your problem with somebody before it gets out of proportion. Often, talking to somebody else will help you see things from a different and less stressful perspective.
Avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as coping mechanisms
Long term, these faulty coping mechanisms will just add to the problem. For example, caffeine is a stimulant and our body reacts to this with the stress response.
The whole point is to understand your own comforts and transform yourself by embracing your ‘discomfort zone.’
This way you will begin to find new passions and favourite things in your life.
Take out tip: Purposely do things that scare you.
3. Go boldly forward
Shaun T uses this lesson to explain that ‘even a deep, dark rut sometimes looks safer than an unknown future’.
But you have to move forward into your future no matter what.
After you have become comfortable with your discomforts, he wants you to work bravely to reach the goals that you want to achieve.
This might require a deep amount of planning and learning along the way, but always remember that nothing will move unless you force it to move.
While taking small steps to achieve your larger goals, do it with passion and determination.
This way you will be able to move on from your ruts and build a life you want for yourself. Go boldly in the direction of your future.
Take out tip: Recognise a rut when you’re in one and take a small step each day to get out of it.
4. Strike the Superwoman
It’s hard to believe in yourself and your future when you don’t have the confidence to.
In order to begin building self-confidence, Shaun T suggests ‘striking the superman pose.’
Hold your head high, distance your feet shoulder width apart and put your hands on your hips.
As Amy Cuddy mentions in her Ted Talk on body language, the Superwoman (aka. Wonder Woman pose) is a high-power pose and can change the way in which you feel about yourself.
Doing this pose everyday can start to give you the confidence to make that public speech or nail that job interview.
The purpose of this pose is to help you start to build the self-confidence you may need to begin to transform your life.
Take out tip: Learn the body language of confidence and do it, even when you don’t feel confident.
5. Know your life soundtrack
What is that voice inside your head saying about you? Is it positive or negative?
Not only is body language important to build confidence in yourself, but so are the words you are saying to yourself.
If you are constantly berating yourself for making mistakes or calling yourself fat when you look into the mirror, it’s time to change your soundtrack.
You can do this by practising already written up positive affirmations daily, or just working on your own to make your inner voice more accepting and inspirational.
Once you begin to treat yourself with respect and kindness you can continue to build confidence to reach your life goals.
Take out tip: Look into the mirror each day and tell yourself the specific reasons why you’re hot and amazing. Stop negative self-talk in its tracks.
6. Take control of time
Shaun T says it is good to set aside time to do things you enjoy and to plan in order to make the most of your time
This lesson teaches you that selfishness is okay and sometimes necessary when it comes to life.
The clock is a wonderful tool that allows us to track our days and plan events, but it more often controls our own schedules.
It tells us when we can’t make it to the gym or that our personal plans have to wait because of a work deadline.
Shaun T advises us to ‘divide up the clock.’ He says to keep a notebook handy that can keep track of the time you spend on activities and when you change plans.
This way you will know where all your time is going and the habits you may have when changes arise.
You can then begin to take steps to rewrite your schedule to better budget your time and dedication to yourself.
Take out tip: Plan you-time in your diary the same way you plan non-negotiable work events.
7. Get lost, just because
You can broaden your horizons by travelling or experiencing new things.
This is what will allow you to grow past the person you are momentarily and discover new things in life you may enjoy.
You can travel on a whim to a new country if that’s what it takes, but you can also take this opportunity to read a book on something you know nothing about or by ordering take away from a restaurant you have never ordered from before.
Doing this will open you up to new experiences and build flexibility in life to better handle changes when they may come.
These things can be either within or out of your comfort zone because what’s most important is that it is something entirely new to you.
Take out tip: Do more entirely new things and you will build up your courage and confidence when new uncontrollable surprises arise in your life.
8. Put your fears on the line
One of the biggest things in life that will hold you back is your fears.
Your fears will never go away unless you address them and work to get over them.
This might mean lifting weights in your community gym if you’re too afraid to go because other people are there or teaching a community class if you’re afraid of public speaking.
The larger the fear the more you’re going to have to work in order for it go away. The faster you challenge them the less your fears to hold you back.
Take out tip: Do the thing you fear the most.
9. Allow yourself time to goof off
Your brain needs a break from the constant stream of attention and concentration you experience during the day.
This could be a walk in the local park at your lunch break or time on the internet to browse if you can’t leave the office.
Don’t get upset if you find yourself flipping through television channels or magazines because that is also a much needed break from concentration.
Doing this will also allow you to open your mind to new things.
Who knows, maybe you’ll find a brand new recipe in a fashion magazine to try that you would normally have just skipped past.
Goofing off gives you the time you need to get back into reality and potentially find new passions in life.
Take out tip: Take breaks in which you do what you like. Have fun like no one is watching.
10. Know what really annoys you
Embracing and channeling your anger will keep your emotions in check, and knowing what annoys you will empower you, Shaun T says
Negative feelings aren’t always bad. Sometimes they can help you figure out what you really care about and where your emotions run deep.
Shaun T suggests writing a list of the top five things that make you angry and discover what common theme connects them.
You can then channel that anger when something might annoy you again positively to get you out of your funk.
You might want to build even further past that to find an exercise plan or volunteer work that can help to channel the now positive anger.
By knowing what angers you you will never become ’emotionally dead.’
Take out tip: Get angry about things that matter to you.
11. Let yourself ROAR
If you’re doing a Shaun T workout or other video workout do you yell back at your instructor when they’re yelling at you to push you?
If so, you’re doing exactly what Shaun T wants you to do. Never let yourself bottle up too much stuff. It will cause stress and conflict in your life when it shouldn’t.
He suggests letting your cork loose to relieve tension, cheer yourself on or just to let the world know how angry you may be. He calls this ‘scream therapy.’
If you do this, remember to do it in an environment that you can hear it and build yourself up from it.
Don’t let this practice become another negative record playing in your head. Use it to cheer yourself on.
Take out tip: Whether it’s through writing in a journal or doing some boxing training, don’t bottle up your emotions.
This article was originally published by Healthista and is being published with their permission.
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