Last week, I asked the question: Why do some succeed at their New Year’s resolution of fitness, while others fail? I asked, but I did not answer the question...until now.
This blog is going to be blunt. I refuse to sugar-coat what I’m about to say, and some people may not like reading what is about to be put to paper, but it must be said. This blog is dedicated to all the people out there, who have set a fitness goal for 2012. This blog is going to help you determine whether you will succeed or fail. It will either set you apart from the January gym bandwagon jumpers, or give you the first step to becoming a gym regular.
The deciding factor in fitness success, the one thing that separates the people who have changed their lives for the better, who continue to go to the gym year after year, month after month, grueling workout after grueling workout is… consistency, and the refusal to give up on their goal.
Working out is hard. Pushing your body beyond what one’s used to, is hard. Moving, if you haven’t moved in years, or ever, is hard. Your fitness goal depends on a constant effort you must exert, day after day, for the rest of your life. There is NO EASY WAY OUT.
When people realize this, they either decide to put in the effort, or continue with their old routine. And it appears continuing with their old routine is the more popular choice. This is where our society falters as a whole. We have all become accustomed to having everything done for us. If we need breakfast, we’d rather throw something in the microwave, or pick something up on our way to work. We’re tired, and pressed for time, so rather than taking that time to plan and cook a healthy meal, it’s so much easier to have someone or some machine do it for us. If we need food, or even money, we physically don’t have to get out of our cars anymore to go get it. We can cruise through the ATM or fast food drive-through, and have it made and handed to us. While at work, we sit at a desk, and have a machine calculate, evaluate, check, and verify for us. We have documents delivered to our desks, or call over to the office next door, rather than walking over to talk to a co-worker face-to-face. We look for the closest parking spot to the building entrance wherever we go. If we’re exhausted at the end of a long day, guess what? Food is waiting to be purchased, and brought home. And when we get home? We have a giant screen, and two dozen remotes to entertain us, while we sit in a sedentary state as the dishwasher cleans our utensils.
This is the sad reality. We would rather have things done for us, than take the time to take care of our health. Having things made easy is much more valued than hard work. I would just like to state, that I am not devaluing the efforts made by people in their current lines of employment. I’m not saying people don’t work hard at their chosen career. This is the way people have become accustomed to viewing the value of their health, and this is the scariest fact of all. How can people NOT realize that without their health, they have nothing, and that eventually, all the bad habits will catch up with them in one way or another? That they have a CHOICE in determining their current and future well-being?
The difference between the gym regulars, and the inactive, is that as gym regulars we have made the CHOICE to value our health, both now, and into the future. We refuse to let illness, disease, disorders, and weakness consume our current and future state. We have joined the battle in bettering our health for now, and for the future, not only for us, but for those that we love. And yes, it is a battle; it is a struggle. We all have jobs, we all have families, and we all have other commitments beyond fitness. But we realize that none of those will continue to be possible, if we don’t take care of ourselves first. We all have bumps in the road, we all have times of frustrations, of plateaus, of time constraints, of stress, but at the end of the day, we tell ourselves that we NEED to do this. We WANT to do this. It’s that relentless drive to be healthy, to be better, and to work through the difficult times that allows us to succeed.
Sit down, and ask yourself: How badly do I want this? Am I willing to never give up? Am I willing to work through the bulls*&t, and tell it where to go? Am I willing to do something hard in order to better myself?
If your answer to this is “yes,” then remember this feeling of determination. Remember it when the times get tough, and you would rather go home and sit on the couch instead of going to the gym. Let it drive you, and when you forget, come back to that one moment where you decided to make yourself a better person, and never forget.
Danyah
P.S. If you need someone to never forget, GET A TRAINER. We’ll keep you honest, and we’ll be that motivation when you feel you have none. ;)
danyahwrestling@hotmail.com for more info.
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