Change is Inevitable. Growth is Optional.

Fit Identity, now a brand of mine, was coined because of my health, my constant need to evolve my health, and ultimately passionately feel the need to help others change their own identities to healthier fit identities.

 

Fit Identity was created from a need for change and growth. One that I constantly strived for and one that I saw many friends, family, co-workers, and even strangers in person and online struggle.  

 

 I constantly see people struggle with who they are vs. who they want to be. So often, I would achieve success and be faced with the obstacle of not returning to who the person I was and maintaining who I grew to become. Along this journey, I watched so many develop a new identity only to return to the past one – that was a driving force for my continuous change and, more importantly, my draw to want to help others, possibly like you, that are reading this to change, grow and maintain your Fit Identity.

What seemed to be a theme in my mind was to get and stay fit at the same time continuously; I wanted that for others. All I could think about was if I changed to be healthier, everything I did would have less stress, and I would have a better opportunity for any success I wanted. My road to success, fulfillment, and happiness would be rewarded. Finding that factual, I wanted others to have the same knowledge and gift.

 

The following statements were ongoing voices, I would say to myself. Once I would begin to speak to others and start to mentor, coach, teach and live by:

“Change from where you are to where you want to be.

Help bring the healthy vision to life. Give your healthy visions life.”

 

Change is Never Without Pain.

I want to take a moment to recognize change and the fact that change can be scary, full of the unknown, along with the pain of unpredictable futures. I feel that is where “most” people’s first thoughts go: change is too painful. However, what went along with that is pleasure is far too easy to find.

 

But where do the minds of not “the most: people go when change is presented? Those minds are excited; they see opportunity; they see GROWTH. They don’t see or feel pain; what they see and think is uncomfortable. This smaller group of people have emotions they have been waiting on, looking for, and thriving with.

 

You see, change is and can be scary; it is sometimes uncomfortable. Change often disrupts what you have put time, effort, finances, and emotions into. That can be frustrating. Often change can be challenging to accept. But those that can take and create change are REWARDED. The reward of new unchartered behaviors, patterns, opportunities, and progression and, most importantly, change provides the opportunity for growth for oneself and others. Change in Identity drives growth, growth drives IMPACT, and where there is impact, there is where Fit Identities live side by side in thriving Fit Communities and inside a Fit World.

 

Change Can Be Hard

One of the most significant fears/pain points of difference:

EVERYTHING IS CHANGING – NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME.

The human mind is fascinating in that it tends to think the worst rather than what we all know to be true: Small changes add to significant changes.

Changing everything at once is radical and often extremely painful, and although the reward of such a significant change can be huge, it is often met with a lower success rate than small changes over time. Change is often NOT changing everything but instead bringing knowledge, skills, experience, and core values forwarded and shifting them onto new growth, change, and coaching moments open mind with a clear vision..

My Talk on Change

Change Can Be Fun

As I write this section, I want to bring up that even with the word “change,” I feel a small amount of pain, just from the word itself. This means I cannot be alone feeling that way, nor am I. Change/Shifts away from one area to another can be fun as you look at the experience you are having or create the experience you want. But, that creation can often be the same environment for you and others to be healthy and fit, to thrive in. 

 

Change Brings Possibility: Shift Your Vision

 

Change can be as simple as saying I did not know I had poor vision until I went to my eye doctor and was given glasses. I knew others could see better and wanted to see better, but I was afraid of the cost of the Dr, the outcome, and what I would need to do. But upon leaving the doctor’s Office, you, the world, suddenly looked different, more precise, with richer details and colors, no more fuzz, street signs read at new distances, people’s faces, emotions, and styles, and the diversity became more abundant, all while being seen differently and complimented on your new glasses. It was difficult and stressful to go through the process, but the reward was impactful.

 Now the stress of learning to drive, having clean glasses, having a carrying case, sunglasses with a prescription, sleeping, etc.

Change brings on growth and clarity!  

 

Honesty Check: 

Some behaviors, patterns, knowledge, and people will need to be set aside, “Let Go,” or managed differently. That’s ok. Priorities must change/shift to (remember this from earlier)

“Change from where you are to where you want to be.

Help bring the healthy vision to life. Give your healthy visions life.”

Thoughts for you After Reading:

  • Is it a change or shift?
  • If you tell yourself things are shifting, do you go to a more positive place in your mind?
  • If you shift, are you still bringing some of the knowledge, fun, success, and skill along with you rather than changing
  • As we move from 2022 into 2023 – Changing and Shifting are inevitable growth is optional.
  • Are these Changes coming? Or are the Shifts? Opportunities?

Growth/Change Brings Possibility: Shift Your Vision

Three Must Haves for Success

If you are asking yourself all or any of these questions you are going to want to read on.

  1. Why is it that some people action more than others?
  2. Why is it that those people seem to get whatever it is they must do, hit their goals, and get what is on their list accomplished?
  3. What is is going to take for you to take action?

The Lack of Action and Struggle with the Success You Want More Than Likely Comes Down to One of the Three Things I am About to Discuss.

 

1- Raise Your Standards.

The very first area to look at are your standards. The very thing you base your values on. The way by which you live and will not compromise under any circumstances. Good or stressful. Here is where you look at how you live, how you want to live, and what your identity will be going forward.

I am quite confident you have some standards in place already. For instance, how you treat your spouse, maybe your faith, how you will accept to be treated and what you will not tolerate.

Now imagine what if that was the same way you were with your workouts, your nutrition – what you are getting or not eating, your mindset and attitude.

Raise your standards, that’s great and all but how? I will reveal the process to this patterning in part 2 article. But for now, I want you to grasp these 3 concepts. The first being RAISE YOUR STANDARDS. Here the shift is simple, the process and adherence are about creating a new pattern that will make up the healthy fit identity you want. First shift: no longer will you say things like I must, I hope and we will see… This type of language needs to be shifted and changed to I MUST. This shift takes your mindset from beyond a desire and makes the desire a must NOW! By doing so you rebrand and give yourself a sense of a new identity. A place to begin to practice new patterns to the healthy life you want. Inversely, I am guessing, currently, you are struggling with having an honest conversation on what your actual identity is. More than likely you have never had this conversation. And if you have, you focus more on what your identity is not.

Change is difficult and it must exist for opportunity and success to exist. In this first shift I often find myself asking “am I changing the way you feel through pain or through your values, your goals, and systems, your true identity?” Then in the past as I have attempted to get healthier and fail it would lead to frustration, frustration lead to excuses and excuses were just a reflection of me lowering my standards. How is it that I am ok with lowering the standards I set for myself? Out of that came:

The more I dealt with pain the more frustrated I got. The further I seemed to fail and not move forward, I fell into what is called “Learned Helplessness” and came to say that everyone who fails says “I have tried everything and nothing works” – we know that something works so you have not tried everything! I had to say “from today forward I am going to create what I deserve!”

 

Coming out of raising your standards, the next step is to:

 

2- Change Your Limiting Beliefs!

You can be inspired to be successful and raise your standards but if in your gut you don’t believe, you say things like “but I’m not good enough, strong enough, smart enough” then doubt exists. In-order for success to exist, doubt cannot. It is your biggest enemy in your road to success. There is enough doubt in this world, the last place you need to find it is inside yourself.

I will tell you where doubt does not exist, where there is certainty. You will not doubt yourself in a position of sense of certainty –in a mindset of whatever it takes I can make it happen no matter what crosses me, that I am bigger than what’s in front of me.

Your biggest challenge on your road to success is to avoid the belief that whatever doubt you are having is permanent – if that is where you are we need to question it! There are things in your life you once believed to be true turned out to be untrue!! This is the same thing with your health. Your health is possible, your willingness to say “This is my life’s standard and I will do whatever is necessary to discover the limiting beliefs that are holding me back and get rid of them”.

 

The third and final step:

3- Have a System-A Good Success System

You can have standards, and a strong belief, BUT how many times have you said “What do I do?” Think this out, you can be willing, passionate, and driven BUT if you’re running east to look for a sunset – you have a problem. There are laws(things that work) in health, strategies, that will test you, that will have you say I can’t do this.

However, what you cannot do is continue with the false identity. An identity against your clarity, against your dreams, goals, wants and desires. You cannot settle for less. The simplicity of your healthy identity is in the systems.

 

 

 

But did you earn it?

But-did-you-earn-it

I get that right now we are all talking about balance, giving yourself grace, and it’s the holidays.

But let’s have a real conversation did you earn it?

Let me ask you a few questions

  1. You want a new car? Did you earn the right to but one?
  2. You want to vacation? Did you earn the right to go on one?
  3. You want new clothes? Did you earn the right to buy them?
  4. You want… but did you?

One of the biggest questions ever proposed to me while being coached to reach my own goals was did you earn the right to go F-off with my friends on a regular basis instead of working. The answer was clearly no. I had not saved enough for retirement, I had a business but it was not weather proof as it is today, I did not have a budget or a plan to reach other goals, like buying a house but I had money. I had not earned the right to use up my time to have fun. Those are obviously big things, but this concept is completely scalable as you will see you read on.

I was reminded that those actions would come at a high cost if I did not start to earn that right to do them.

My fitness, on the other hand, was a different story. I workout every day sometimes 2x, I sit in saunas 3-4x a week, I do red light therapy 3x a week, I drink a superfoods shake daily, I drink celery juice daily, I always eat a salad with each meal, my nutrition is mostly on good, I work on my flexibility and mobility. I am active, I ride my bike, hike, walk all over, I box, the list goes on.

My point: That’s a lot of earning for when I want to do the opposite; overeat, drink alcohol, overindulge on vacation, eat a cookie, a doughnut, some pizza, or any dessert for that matter. I love dessert.

You are talking to a guy that lives for all of that stuff. And to a guy that needed to break through his negative mindset, guilty feelings, fears, and head chatter when thinking about my goals and with doing those things. It all came to a head with one simple exercise I do before I actually go and eat or drink those things.

I ask myself: Mike, did you earn it.

I am a person that never wants to owe anyone anything. If I did not earn it, I just knew I had to owe someone something. Well, that solved the problem immediately.

The only way I knew if I was earning it, as if I was eating well most of the time, working out either on a plan or 5 days a week burning calories and increasing my metabolism. Focusing more on my long-term health than I was on my short-term overindulging at the time. Also coming to terms with overindulging in what I wanted right then and there was slowing me down, making me unhappy, and would eventually kill me. I had to earn it. I would owe no one, not even myself.

Truth: plans work, fitness plans, nutrition plans, health plans work – put them together you no longer have a plan, you have a solution.

Not Waiting on 2021

Mike-Karpenko-1

I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just giving up. Throwing in the towel, saying 2020 you win!

I was trying to go to the end of the year and then cut my hair and beard off going into 2021 as a sign of letting go of 2020. I stopped cutting both in October.

Today I woke up and said to myself why would you wait to let your hair go? Why would you wait on feeling better about yourself? Why do you still want to look like Santa when you can look like an athlete? And why wouldn’t you finish out 2020 fresh with momentum! Why give in. and waste valuable time.

Waiting is a form of excuses. Waiting is fear, and waiting is WEAK.

I was done waiting, I decided at that moment to step up and crush the end of the year and not wait. Yes, that’s all it took was a decision to raise my standards, change my beliefs, stop with the negative self-talk, and actually do something about it.

I really looked like Santa! I mean for real-look at the photo. My hair was long, my beard was overgrown, I have struggled with workouts because of ankle surgery and gained 10 lbs of thiccccccc-ness. Right there at that moment, I decided I was wasting time and my potential.
I cut my hair, shaved my beard back, and committed to losing 10 lbs by the end of the year with my team.

Yes my team, I messaged them as I knew I could not be the only one that needed a mind shift and butt kick. I was not surprised they wanted in along with our customers. You see in times of challenge we find the fun. What could be more fun that team wide push of winner takes all!

I tell you this as I know there are many people that feel the same way I was feeling: over it, sliding, loke giving up, defaulting to starting and dealing with it all next year all while hoping 2021 will be better. I am not one to run from the truth, the truth was I was a mess. In a mess that a lot of people can relate to. Most won’t do anything about it unless someone like me steps up and says join me, pull your head out of your butt and do something about it. I got you.

I am hoping as you read this it lands on ears that need to hear it.

I am saying you can too! You can even join me. I’m sort of a good coach(lol), accountability partner, and support tool with knowledge, I need you to be good at changing your life.

Send this to someone that needs to hear exactly this: stop waiting on feeling great, the year to end, and start today.

Solutions Not Resolutions

Solutions Not Resolutions

Set goals that are challenging but attainable

Most people set goals that only involve the big picture ex I want to lose 60lbs

You need to know exactly what your goal is.

  1. Then you have smaller cycles within that period 
  2. Say you set a 90-day goal.  
    • Break that up:
      • 3- 30 day cycles- you will want to hit a certain goal every 30 days 
      • Break the 30-day cycles into 4- 1 week cycles 
      • Break the 1-week cycles into daily 
    • Simply put you need to have SMALL goals inside the large goals 
    • You can not achieve your big goal without having several small VICTORIES
  3. Set Goals 
    1. Don’t make them too big, too crazy  
    2. Most people set too many big goals or goals that they know have a high rate of failure, set a goal that is challenging and may not be achievable- success is fun! 
    3. Plan 
    4. You need a plan, you need to think ahead.  
    5. When are you going to get it done?    i.     I had clients on their off days getting up at 4 am to do their cardio runs to get it down
    6. Make sure it’s fun!
    7. Always have fun, even when it sucks!!  
    8. I promise you if you do not make your process a fun road and your road .. you will not continue to do it 
    9. Support- family/friends
    10. Tell them what you are doing, how you are doing it. How hard it is how much fun it is, your success/struggles.  
    11. When others see your goals, your efforts, and emotions they are more likely to contribute and offer support.  They will eat/cook healthier too,  your kids/spouse will want to go on walks/runs, do fitness videos with you!  
    12. Find someone that you can check in with that will hold you accountable. I call my clients nicely! I make them text me on days they do not see me.  
    13. Nutrition is Key!
    14. You need to plan and you need to make it simple. Don’t overcomplicate
    15. Tupperware- use it
    16. Shopping ahead of time
    17. Huge fan of Green-White 

When in doubt with your nutrition anything green and leafy as a carbohydrate combined with anything white grilled protein .   I cut out all starchy carbs, dairy, and refined sugars- start from there and add back in as needed.     I always eat eggwhites steel-cut oats for breakfast, salad for lunch always works.

Two things I focus on:  

  1. If you need a cheat food- earn it! 
  2. I am a big fan of making dinner every night with your family, a healthy dinner, It’s another opportunity you can show your commitment thru actions and communicate at the table, and you get in great family time! 

Tips & Tools

  • Heart rate monitors get into a habit of knowing how many calories you are burning. If you want to lose weight its basic math Calories burned need to be GREATER then calories taken in 
  • Write yourself a letter WRITE it do not type it. Write it as to what your goal is and why you want it to achieve, THE REAL REASON!  Be honest to yourself.  This can be as simple as a reunion, a cruise or could be a tough one. Mine was literally I will not be a skinny kid with no dates ever again.  Then I ask they put it in an envelope & write WHY or IN 30 Days, IN 60 Days, IN 90 DAYS, TO; ME put  that envelop somewhere you can see it often. 
  • I have clients put a calendar on their refrigerator at home. The Kitchen is the most common space in every home. You, your family and your friends are constantly there, talking, looking for or preparing food/drink.  I have them put an \ for a day that they worked out and a / for a day that they eat well. Each day should form an X at the end.
    • The goal here:
      1. To string as many X’s together in a row
      2. To have yourself, family & friends see you have a goal and the success you are achieving as you do
      3. To prevent you from overeating or grazing

With this comes a couple of sets of emotions

  1. When people see it you become “ooh you are trying a new diet/workout/new goal. You are that person”
  2. You start to get compliments on your focus and your dedication
  3. Compliments on your appearance 
  4. Questions of what you are doing and can they do it to
  5. Sense of achievement and affirmation from people around you- this feeling really helps you push harder and not stop

Your workouts should change in intensity, duration, resistance,  & speed every 3-4 weeks or you will plateau. Running on a treadmill for the same amount of time, at the same speed will eventually produce no results 

Workouts are Appointments- one you do not break- I like to say they are a meeting with a CEO, the President. No one needs to know what your appointment it, they just need to know that time is already taken. If tell people what it is they will immediately think their needs are more then yours and try to convince you of breaking your appointment with yourself. 

Tupperware is a great best friend! It helps my clients prepare all the food they need for the week, in times of convenience, so you are not reaching for other what are considered “comfort foods” My clients use them to put premade chicken in, steak, brown rice, salads. AND BUY new stuff!! Its cheap and eating out of and using new makes it that much more fun! 

Fear is not an option!! You can be afraid to sweat, You can not be afraid to be successful,

 Thanks, I Worked Hard For It

  • No compliment is too small not to appreciate and say thank you and recognize that you have worked hard, sweated, and focused on 

Don’t Beat Yourself up Over Falling Off Your Resolution Wagon

  • Life can and will get in the way, it happens. The true key is what you do when it does. How you get back up, how you prevent yourself from having it happen again, and finally how you limit the number of times you fall. 

Make Yourself a Priority

  • There is no one in this world more important than you. Argue with me, you will never win.  Not your husband, not your kids, not your family. It comes down to simply understanding that if you cannot be the best for yourself there is no way you can be the best for them. And they are the ones that need you the most. 

Fitness Credit Card

  • It’s a concept I have been working on. 
  • It basically says if you have a party, a birthday, an event or just need a cheat day, you have to put your calories in account before you can consume them.  If you do not it’s like holding a balance on your credit card. Getting that balance back to zero is going to be very difficult unless you have built up a surplus. Don’t carry a balance. Do a longer, harder workout, do doubles, DO NOT STARVE yourself!! But build the credit up before you swipe the card! 

There Are Emotions That Go Along With Resolutions

Be prepared to hear it all… 

  • Comments both good and bad 
  • Feelings you are not going to understand, new feelings 
  • Embrace the changes, and sometimes as you change so will your resolutions/goals. 
  • Remember you may not even be able to see the changes that you are going thru, you have to trust in the people that love you that when they see it it’s happening! 
  • Don’t be afraid of success or not reaching your goals you learn from each!! 
  • Seek help, it’s a great thing to reach out and ask for help, there are tons of people like me that want to help as many people as we can, we love doing it. 

Why Not You?

Mike Karpenko

Do YOU:
❓Want to get healthier
❓Want to be part of a fun team
❓Change your current situation
❓Want to help others
❓Want an opportunity to thrive
❓Want to be recognized for your hard work?l
❓ Want to join us

If you are willing learn, I’m willing to teach.
If you are willing to work, I’m willing to guide.
If you are willing to check your ego. I’m willing contribute to your growth.

I am sitting here thinking to myself – how in the world did I get here at the age of 49. I’m so grateful for the risk I took, the extra hours I worked, the mistakes I made, that I gave all I had to jobs I no longer have because that was my work ethic and that others along the way trusted me.

Man what a ride. It’s not been easy. I’ve lost people who I thought were friends, been handcuffed by judgement and fear(self imposed), dealt with non believers, limited belief thinkers and have been laughed at.

As I sit here and look back – extreme highs and extreme lows because it was all worth it. I have some incredible teammates I call true friends, we are blessed with the skills we developed to help people every day. We work together. We struggle together, we help together and we succeed together.

And now we want you to be a risk taker, a dreamer, a hard worker, a teammate. We want you to join us.

If you have been watching me, our team, our boot camps and thought why not me well now is the chance for it to be you and reach out to me. I want to explain what and how we do it.

Practice Makes Permanent

Mike Karpenko

One of my natural instincts is to problem solve. Solve immediately. All with the best intentions. I want to help, take struggle and pain away.
Knowing all good and well LISTENING is the key.

It’s an ongoing battle, a skill that is yet to be mastered by myself.
It’s a holiday weekend as I am surrounded by others and although i might have the answer, I will be listening as much as possible.

Practice makes permanent.

Don’t Be Velcro for Negativity

Mike Karpenko

MOST OF THE TIME: Your bad day is really just a few minutes you choose to hang on to. FACT.

This is a shout to out to all of you going through something.

To those going down rabbit holes.

To those who put your expectations on others and get frustrated they continuously fail to meet them.

That can’t stop assuming, making up reasons why in your head.

That can’t seem to let go.

I’ve been there, choosing to hang onto moments allowing them to influence me, not letting go day after day. And NOT believing it’s just a moment, a thing, or a reflection of where that other person is at. It’s not a bad day, week or year.

You are a powerful mother fer. Don’t be velcro for negativity or a chef for cooking up bad thoughts, stories or outcomes.
Let’s do our part to be overly supportive to our friends and family in their lives, businesses, activities, causes and not social media spectators. People need to hear and feel our support. We don’t do enough. TRUE FACT.

My Life

Mike Karpenko

Not only do you have the power but you are writing the chapters in a book called “My Life” This thought just punched me in the face: “This chapter in your life can be the start a new one.” I have had many chapters in my life, l was child in a horrible divorce, successful […]

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Unbreakable

Mike Karpenko

I named our coaching team UNBREAKABLE because I wanted to help people who felt broken in their health and income. I was warned not to use a negative term in name but I refused. Its because it was how I felt – broken – and it was what I wanted to UNBREAKABLE. + I was […]

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