WHY to Fitness
The WHY to Fitness podcast is dedicated to supporting Christians in achieving peace of mind and heart in all areas of life because every aspect of life affects our health and fitness.
Hosted by Aaron O'Connell, an IFBB Professional athlete actively pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychological Studies, the podcast's goal is to assist Christians in discovering their divine purpose while triumphing over spiritual, mental, and physical challenges related to their well-being.
At the core of this journey is the belief that God serves as the ultimate WHY, i.e., the ultimate driving force behind existence.
In this context, fitness is our ability to overcome the obstacles standing before the goal. It extends beyond exercise and nutrition to encompass relationships, mental health, finances, spiritual growth, and life experiences.
Tune in on a biweekly/weekly to access valuable insights, mindset strategies, theological discussions, interviews, and more to achieve success, which translates into attaining peace of mind and heart across every facet of life.
WHY to Fitness
The #1 Reason You’re Not Reaching Your Goals and How to Fix It
Ready to discover why your goals seem just out of reach? Prepare for a deep-dive into the hidden fears and past experiences that might be blocking your path to success. This episode uncovers the truth about backward-looking, fear-driven goals and how they could be sabotaging your aspirations. We unravel the wisdom of Paul's words in Romans 7, shedding light on the transformative power of love-based, forward-facing goals. Get ready to reframe your perspective, moving away from the fear of not accomplishing something, to embracing the love of becoming something.
Furthermore, we explore the crucial question of 'why' when setting goals. Discover how anchoring your aims in fear or past experiences can hinder your progress, while aligning your goals with a greater purpose can provide the motivation and focus needed to achieve them. We delve into the notion of linking your objectives to the Great Commission, providing guidance on how to reassess and reset your goals. Join us on this journey as we strive not only to realize our goals, but to fulfill a purpose-driven life. So, are you ready to challenge your thinking, and start setting love-based, forward-looking goals?
I don't know about you, but me personally. Anytime I try not to sin. Just like Paul, I end up doing it. Your body doesn't know, your brain doesn't know yes and no. Thank God. The answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Speaker 1:Hello and welcome to the Y2 Fitness Podcast. I'm your host, aaron O'Connell, and today we are talking about the biggest reason why you are not reaching your goals. A lot of time when people start thinking of why they're not reaching their goals, the main reason is because they're not doing what they know they ought to do James 417, or they just don't have enough information. But that actually are just surface level reasons and the real reason lies much deeper than that. The real reason you are not reaching your goals are because your goals are formed wrong. Your goals most likely are fear based and backwards looking. So what do I mean about fear based and backwards looking goals? So, for example, the goal of being skinny? Well, that goal actually isn't the goal. Because if you were to ask them, if you ask the person that has that goal, well, why do you want to be skinny? Well, they're going to most likely answer because I don't want to be fat. Or the goal of I want to be healthy. Well, you ask them why? Because I don't want to be unhealthy. But if you were to actually peel back and observe this person and say, hey, is their goal really to be skinny? If you analyze their actions, they're not doing anything that will achieve that goal. So the goal actually isn't to be skinny, the goal is actually to not be fat.
Speaker 1:And this gets explained so well in Romans 7, 15 through 25 by Paul, and Paul's sitting there. It's a famous thing. He says I don't really understand myself, for what I do, what I want to do, is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate, but if I know what I'm doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I'm not the one doing wrong, it's the sin living inside me and I know that nothing good lives in me. That is in my sinful nature. I want to do what's right, but I can't. I want to do what's good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I'm not really the one doing it, it's the sin living in me. I've discovered this principle in life, and when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what's wrong. He goes on and says I love God's law with all my heart, but there's another power that's working inside of me. Oh, what a miserable person I am. Paul says who will free me from this life that's dominated, sin and death? And then he goes on and says thank God, the answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Speaker 1:A lot of people use this verse to give an excuse of going on sinning. But if we go look at Paul's words later on in the Bible, he says hey, just because you're saved by faith alone isn't an excuse to keep on going and sinning. You're only fooling yourself if you actually think you're saved and you keep on willingly sinning because the answer is in Jesus Christ. So how do we take that and transform it so we can actually start achieving our goals? How do we apply that to achieving our goals? Well, we can't have those backwards looking, fear-based goals and instead we need forward-looking, love-based goals, because love con-t-recurs everything and as Christians we know that love conquers all. So we know that skinny is actually not the goal. That would be the goal of not being fat, even the goal of getting a wife or getting a relationship. Well, that's usually the goal of not being lonely or not having someone to share things with, or whatever it may be. Or the goal of making more money would actually be the fear of not having enough money. Well, how can we go and change that? Well, let's see. Let's take the first one, for example, the goal of being skinny or healthy or whatever it is. Well, we could change that and we need to focus on love, focus on Christ, so we can look at that as okay.
Speaker 1:To take care of God's holy temple out of gratitude. Now, if that's your goal, that is a loving-based goal. You're not only loving God, you're loving yourself. And you're loving, we'll be able to love others. So, if you look at that goal to take care of God's holy temple, or just plainly just that, or out of gratitude, which I added well, that's a love-based goal that automatically will mean that you most likely will be getting skinnier, unless you're already skinny or you will most likely be getting healthier. Why? Because you want to take care of God's temple.
Speaker 1:Well, let's look at another example To get a wife or a husband or a relationship. Well, if we could then frame that to maybe, say, to raise a family of warriors, to transform the land to be more like the kingdom of God. Well, that right, there would be a positive goal. And if you're looking for that, what is the actual focus? Transforming the land to be more like the kingdom of God so you'll automatically start doing the things that will attract a family and you'll be able to start the family to raise the warriors, because you're already transforming the land to look more like the kingdom, or we could say it as to love a woman or man to showcase Christ and inspire other marriages. That could be a positive, forward-loving goal. Why? Because if you have the goal to love a man or a woman to showcase Christ and inspire other marriages, you automatically will then need a wife to make that happen.
Speaker 1:But I do have a challenge for you when it comes to those relationships, because 1 Corinthians 7, 17, through roughly 30, it starts talking about that. Hey, you should maybe continue. Well, I'll say it right here 1 Corinthians 7, 17. Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you and remain as you were when God first called you, for instance. And that keeps going on, for it makes no difference whether your man has been circumvented or not. Yes, each of you should remain verse 20, as you were when God called you. Are you a slave? Then don't let that worry you, but if you get a chance to be free, take it and remember. If you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you. Again, he says it in verse 24.
Speaker 1:Now, regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married, I do not have a command from the Lord for them, but the Lord in His mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted and I can share it with you. Because of the present crisis, I think it's best to remain as you are. If you have a wife, don't seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. But if you do get married, it's not a sin, because we also know that who you who finds a wife finds a good thing, and if a young woman gets married, it's not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I'm trying to spare you these problems. Why do I share that?
Speaker 1:Because, as Christians, we shouldn't be looking for other people to complete us. If we are needing somebody in our life and we're so miserable, I would have to beg to ask the question are you whole? Are you offering? When you find this person, are you able to offer them a whole person? Because no human being that is flawed, living in sin which we all are is ever going to complete you. Only Jesus Christ can complete you.
Speaker 1:So we need to make sure that we're not trying to go after our relationships out of a place, out of fear or out of a goal, out of backward that's backwards looking but instead maybe you just start trusting God and understanding that, hey, if he has one for me, great. If he doesn't have a partner, for me, great. It doesn't matter, because I'm going to be Christ centered, I'm going to want to transform the world, no matter what. I'm going to inspire other Christians. Maybe I want to inspire other marriages, whatever it may be, but then, as you become that person, there will be somebody that probably walks into your life. Maybe you already know that person. Well, then you can say the goal of I want to love so and so, whatever their name is, to the highest capacity that is possible.
Speaker 1:Well, that is a love based goal. The goal isn't to get married. The goal isn't to have a relationship, is to love that person at the highest degree possible. That is being able to place your trust in God and saying, hey, no matter what, I'm going to love that person, no matter what, and if they are for me, lord, it's up to you. This is how we need to start focusing on our goals. Let's do another one Make money. Well, we could start saying in a forward, loving based way, to help transform the world through XYZ whatever your money would go to your business, whatever it is, or to provide opportunities and security for my family. Notice how these are all framed in a way that is love based and it's not fear based and looking backwards. And in the same goes for sin. I don't know about you, but me personally.
Speaker 1:Anytime I try not to sin, just like Paul, I end up doing it. Why? Because your body doesn't know. Your brain doesn't know yes and no. It doesn't mean it doesn't know I want or don't want. It doesn't understand that. But what it does understand is the object of focus. So if you are trying to sit here and say I don't, I no longer want to lust, I no longer want to have sex, I no longer want to masturbate, I no longer want to steal, I no longer want to lie, whatever it may be, your focus is on that negative thing and you may try and all of your might not to do it, but inevitably you're going to do it. Paul already says it and I know, if you examine your life, you're going to realize that you do it every time. You try not to do it, you may go longer and longer, but you always end up doing it. But Paul says so greatly, thank God, the answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. So what does that mean? Well, if we're trying not to sin, we can't sit here and try not to sin. That's Old Testament law based always going to fail.
Speaker 1:We see the Israelites doing it over and over and over again. Even though they got fire leading them by day sorry, by night, by smoke, by day, they got seeing all the different miracles right in front of their faces, yet they still instantly went and worshiped a golden calf. They called over and over and over again, just denied God and went after their own God's, their own desires, their own way, even though they had everything. Jesus, or God, literally said do all these things and I will bless you. But it didn't work. So what do we know? We got Jesus our Savior. So when we want to stop sinning, we can't sit here and try not to sin. It will never work. But if we focus on Jesus, if we focus on God and we keep our focus there, automatically we will start sinning less. The more we get into our scriptures, the more we get into prayer, the more we fall in love with Jesus, the less likely we're going to sin. We're going to actually end up hating it because we will become more like Christ.
Speaker 1:We need to apply this to every area of our life if we want to succeed. We need to start looking forward in goals. We need to make sure that our goals are love-based and, honestly, they should point back. As Christians, we know all things good come from God and everything is His. So we need to frame all that we are doing to love others and to love God, because that is what the whole entire law is summed up on Love your Lord, god, with all your mind, heart and soul, and to love others or your neighbor as yourself. This fulfills everything. So, just to recap, we need to make sure and form our goals in a way that's forward-based and loving, so one way.
Speaker 1:I'll give you an example for me. I work out to be ready and capable for anything God, the devil or my life throws my way. Notice there's no result. I just need to be ready. Why do I want to be ready? So I can take every opportunity to maybe win over somebody for Christ, so then they don't have to go through eternal damnation in hell. So I do all these things. Why do I work hard? Why do I want to make more money? Why? Because then I will be able to have more resources to reach more people, so then I can lead them to Christ. That is the Great Commission. Why do I want to be the most fit I possibly can To give myself as much time here on this earth, so then I can help others experience Christ and be able to live in eternity with Him. This is what everything points to. Everything needs to point to the ultimate why, which is God. So start asking yourself why am I doing things?
Speaker 1:And if things are based off of fear, if things are based off of where you currently are, your goal is faulty and is most likely the reason you are not achieving your goals. If you need any help to frame your goals in a loving, forward-based way, please reach out. My email is Erin at y2fitnesscom. You can go on y2fitnesscom and go to the Contact Me section and ask me. I have a whole entire coaching program that will help you do this. If you are serious about wanting change but not for selfish reasons, not for fear-based reasons, but because you are a child of God and you want to honor your temple, you want to honor and take your life and make the Lord of all of it. That's something you want to do. Just reach out. But yes, this is the reason and the biggest reason you are not reaching your goals.
