"I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. "
~ John D. Rockefeller
Achieving your weight loss and fitness goals takes perseverance. Without it, you will fail! Why? The answer lies in the very nature of losing weight and getting in shape.
Imagine This: You take the first step in your quest for weight loss and use the tips set forth in this article as your blueprint. You start your journey with great confidence that this time, I can do it, I can lose the body fat. A week or two go buy and you are making great progress - you complete a lifestyle review; drink 96 oz. water/day; set health and fitness goals; keep a fitness journal; follow a fitness plan; and, reduce your sugar intake. Then one day, rather than drinking 96 oz. of water, you drink 8 oz. total for the day. SPLAT - the proverbial bug just hit your car windshield! So, how do YOU respond to this adversity, this mistake, this setback?
Two Options:
· One option is to use this as an excuse and quit. You take this one slip up and blow it so out of proportion that you lose sight of all the progress you made - your lifestyle review, your health and fitness goals, journal entries, etc. You convince yourself that perfect adherence is the only way to succeed, and since I didn't drink enough water, I'll just quit.
"There's only one thing that can guarantee our failure, and that's if we quit."
· The other option is to shrug it off, move on and learn from my mistake.
Which option will you chose?
I recommend the latter. Don't quit! Why? Check this out...
Tony Horton developed a very popular fitness program called P90X which, in a nutshell, is an intense workout that incorporates different training principles (plyometrics, yoga, martial arts, resistance training, core workouts, etc.). The workouts are very challenging and difficult to finish. At times, it gets so demanding that you just want to quit and say to heck with it all. You try to convince yourself it's too hard and that it can't be done. But you don't quit. Why? What makes people get through the hard parts? I argue that a lot of it is due to one line that Tony repeats throughout the program,
"Do your best and forget the rest."
That's perseverance! To shrug off not finishing a set or part of a workout, to move on and reflect on how you can do better the next time. To keep looking forward to the next challenge and not dwell on past setbacks.
"Just remember, you can do anything you set your mind to, but it takes action, perseverance, and facing your fears."
~Gillian Anerson
Conclusion
"Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back at it too long. Mistakes are life's way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come."
~ Og Mandino