The F.U. Model

I was conducting a teambuilding training a couple of weeks back and one of the things I use for my training is what I call the F.U. Model. Now I know many of you are thinking of F*** You, and jumping about in astonishment…but actually, the F and the U stands for Fed Up and not anything else. Now most people (including our parents) will teach you that being fed up is a negative emotion and should be avoided. Even if you feel fed up with something, you should plough through and work hard, because that’s how they all did it.

Well contrary to the popular belief above, I actually feel that being fed up is a useful feeling as long as you know how to act on it. The problem arises when people feel fed up, don’t do anything about it and then become depressed. For me, feeling Fed Up is your brain telling you that it needs something to change and you should listen to the signals that your brain is telling you.

Now the F.U. Model is divided into 3 simple steps as stated below:-
1) What is it that you are fed up about
2) Why are you feeling fed up?
3) What is the action plan you can take to overcome this

So the simplest example I can use, which I think everyone can relate to is being fed up with your current job. So the answers to the questions will be something like below:-
1) I am fed up with my job
2) I am fed up because of the pay package, the way my boss treats me, the long hours, too much politics…
3) Start applying for a new job by sending out resumes, looking in the news paper, JobStreet etc

So now, with that being said, the same model can be easily applied for fitness as well. Now assuming you are fed up with being overweight, below is what your F.U. Model will look like
1) I am fed up with being fat.
2) I am fed up because people always make fun of me, I have limited options for clothes, I am unhealthy
3) Join a gym, Start working out, eat less, avoid oily fried foods etc.

Now when we talk about being fed up, it has to be where you are really unhappy and truly fed up with the situation. Then using this model helps you focus your attention and energy in the right direction. If its just a matter of an inconvenience or a nuisance, than chances are this model will not be that effective, as you can still live with it and overall, you are still generally happy with the way you look. Yes, you could look better, but at the same time, things now aren’t that bad. The level of frustration you feel will determine your level of commitment, which ultimately translates to how successful you are in changing.

So what happens when you are fed up with working out? Well let’s look at it using the F.U. Model
1) I am fed up with my training / Diet
2) Because I am not seeing results
3) Change my training, change my diet, do some research to find out why I am not seeing results. (Law of Variability)

Whatever it is you are trying to achieve in life, if your decision to do so is very strong, you will definitely reach success. In fact, about 60% to 70% of how successful you are will depend on how strong your decision is. If it’s not that strong, don’t worry about it too much. It means you are relatively happy with the way things are. And as long as you are happy with things, then nothing else matters does it.
So try it out and see. Not just for fitness, but for anything else as well. As usual, look forward to hearing your comments.