Slow and Steady Wins The Race
Whenever someone embarks on a new fitness goal or journey, initially, there is a lot of enthusiasm and drive to accomplish the goal.
But, after a few weeks or months, this drive and determination to reach the goal starts to waiver.
Perhaps, you've encountered or struggled with this exact thing, yourself?
EXAMPLE: New Year's Resolutions.
A few memories of *your* resolutions for the year might be popping back up..."ooops, forgot about them"
The reason that the 'motivation' levels start to drop is because the plan hasn't been thoroughly thought-out.
More often than not, people will sit down, only for a handful of minutes and think, "What do I want to achieve?", and that's it!
This leads to a very surface-level response and answer to the creation of a goal. If you don't actually have a goal that is meaningful and causes you to want to take action, then it won't lead to much of a change.
Which brings me to my initial question.
"Do you want fast results, or permanent results?"
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 'permanent results', was your response.
Have you ever heard the story of the hare and the tortoise? Of course, you have!
That is the story which I will be referring back to, throughout this article.
The hare is so cocky and confident that he can win, that a challenge of a race takes place.
In this race, the hare gets off to a blistering start. Getting miles ahead of the slow-moving tortoise.
Once the hare amasses a fairly lengthy lead, he decides that he'll take a nap as things are so easy (he gets comfortable).
As the hare sleeps, the tortoise keeps plodding along, getting closer and closer to the hare, and eventually finishes the race as the winner.
The hare, to his dismay can't believe that he lost!
The two approaches were vastly different and consequently had different outcomes.
The Hare;
- Went out all guns blazing.
- Didn't think about what he was doing. Having placed minimal thought about how to best accomplish the goal, of winning the race.
- Took his foot off the pedal and became too comfortable (Had a nap).
- Ended up stressing out and having to scramble to cross the finish line.
- Reached his destination (goal) later than his competitor.
The Tortoise;
- Was methodical and knew the approach he was going to take BEFORE starting the race.
- Stayed true to his plan and course of action (Didn't get attracted by 'shiny object syndrome').
- Never left the path and just kept moving forwards, focusing on one step at a time.
- Comfortably made strides towards his destination.
- Reached his goal with minimal stress, or anxiety.
Now, I know that this is a fable, but, you can definitely take similarities from this and apply it to your fitness goal/s.
Your goal may be different to the person next to you, but, I assume you don't want it to be temporary -- like the hare's short-winded lead, in the race.
If you are interested in reaching your fitness goals and making them last you a lifetime, I want to share with you some smart and repeatable actions that you can use to make that happen!
- Sit down and *clearly* identify what it is you want to achieve. What is your most important goal, and WHY? (You can use this formula, HERE to make that happen)
- Identify ONE action item (Just one), or habit that needs to change to create a significant impact in you reaching your goal.
- Start small. Don't be over-ambitious about what you want to accomplish. The habit needs to be easy enough that you can actually achieve it every single day and week. This is how habits are formed.
- Don't stray from your path. You will be tempted to try different programs, the newest diet and gimmicky products. Don't fall for them! Stick to your plan.
- Have markers and feedback that shows your progress. This information will tell you that you are on the right track, or what needs to be changed/modified to further move you forward.
These 5 steps are very simple in nature and I'm betting that you've probably heard some of them before.
But, have you actually put them to work for a consistent amount of time to make and notice significant changes?
The approach I have outlined will take longer. No doubt about it!
But, what it has over the rapid approach, is that the results will become permanent.
You can have fast results, or you can create permanent results.
The choice is all yours.
Until next time,
Slow and steady wins the race.
Jesse
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