By: Ty Cardwell
To this day the hardest thing I have ever done in my life is transform my body and acquire a superior level of health. The easiest thing I have ever done is maintain my body and health. Next to religion, health will be the most valuable asset to you during your lifetime.
As we welcome 2012 realize that the hardest step to achieving anything is making a true commitment. In order to succeed we need to discipline ourselves to consistently think long term. If you believe that you are going to get healthy in 2 months then you are wrong. 94% of people who begin New Year’s Resolution consisting of a diet and workout program will have retired the running shoes and leave behind the rabbit food by the end of February.
I would like to challenge you to say goodbye to the New Year’s Resolution and say hello to the Lifetime Resolution. With the New Year’s Resolution you will put too many standards, deadlines, goals, and therefore too much pressure on yourself to obtain these things. Your workout partner will eventually fail you or vice versa. The weight will not come off as fast as you want it to and there will be legitimate obstacles such as kids, work, and sickness.
Let me be honest with you. I guarantee on your journey you will start and quit countless times and this is simply because it is HARD, not just for you but for all of us. When I began my journey 15 years ago I struggled for years before I got it right, but the key was the decision that I always made to not get discouraged and just do the best that I possibly could. It is only because I lived it that I have taken on this no excuse attitude. I have trained when there was a 2 degree wind chill and with a 105 degree heat index, as well as rain, snow, and those days when I was feeling under the weather. And through all of that I never felt worse after training and this did everything for my self esteem and confidence.
Remember the true power of making decisions and stay committed to your decisions but stay flexible in your approach. Example, my car had a flat this morning and I could not make it to training. Therefore I need to be flexible enough to make time tonight (Not Tomorrow) to do some form of a workout on my own not just blow it off as a missed day. Consistency is the key.
Let me leave you with this quote by Richard C. Scott. “To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done”.
