Folks who come into the gym know I love my “You are a Badass” calendar and its daily messages. I look forward to flipping the page each morning. I often save the pages with messages that I find are more meaningful.
This message comes from February 24, 2023:
“Climbing a mountain and building a skyscraper happen step by step and floor by floor, but when you’re the one hiking or the one hammering, you don’t really experience much of the progress as it’s happening. You’re in the process of creating it, and much of the ground you gain is fairly invisible to you until you hit an overlook on the trail or finish of a substantial number of floors or stand back when you’re done, point at your grand accomplishment, and regale everyone in earshot with endlessly detailed stories about how you did it.”
It reminds me of a story Will Smith shared about building a wall with his brother when he was younger and how it influenced his future work ethic. Click below for a 2-minute listen.
There are so many parallels in these messages to the weight loss and fitness journey we may all choose to embark upon.
Some of us may look at where we are and think our goals are so far off.
In some circumstances, a person may have 50+ pounds to lose. They start at the gym and perhaps work on eating better, yet nothing is happening. A month or two goes by and it seems as if nothing is changing. Too many folks focus on that number (in this case 50) instead of focusing on the first 5 pounds…or the first hill up the mountain or the first floor of the skyscraper.
Using a fitness example, maybe one wants to do a pull-up and yet they are still struggling to get even that first banded one.
Little by little though, it’s easier to bend over and tie your shoes, you are able to go up the stairs without feeling overly winded, and the daily aches and pains of a sedentary life aren’t there as often or as much.
For those on the pull-up journey, maybe they are gradually doing heavier dumbbell rows and can finally hang from the bar for more than 5 seconds.
My encouragement for you is to not overlook these foundational items because without them, the later hills cannot be climbed or skyscraper floors could not be built. All of these milestones are necessary for your journey and by trying to skip them or not celebrate them, you are holding yourself back from future success.
A perspective people often overlook is the reverse. Many times, the 50 pounds of additional weight wasn’t gained in 3 months…yet they often expect to lose it that fast.
It’s not the first missed workout that causes you to lose your fitness…it’s many missed workouts.
Give yourself adequate time to build a solid foundation and you will have greater success in the long-term.
Nothing worth having comes easy. Sadly, too many people get sucked into weight loss products that are scams, or, they make yet another attempt at a “6 week fitness program” thinking the results come that fast…only to be exactly where they started at the end of that 6 weeks.
It is through building that solid foundation and celebrating the small wins that once we have achieved our goal, we can stand back and be proud of our accomplishment so much so that we can’t wait to share with others how much we learned about ourselves in the process. We are there then to encourage them to do the same.
Anyone who has tried the “quick fix” has generally only been able to share how it didn’t work for them. Show me a person who utilized a “quick fix” that is still successful years later utilizing that same product or method…I’ll wait.
I’ve lost over 50 pounds and have kept it off for years. It’s not the easiest of journeys, but entirely worth it. It took me about 10 years to gain the weight, but about 2 years to lose it. Once I abandoned the search for the quick fix, things changed for the better. My focus was one pound at a time and one workout at a time.
Believe and let it be possible.
Sincerely,
Your friend in health and fitness,
Coach Candice
My team and I support our clients wherever they may be on their health and fitness journey. It all starts with a free consultation.
I wrote a book about my own health and fitness journey. You can purchase a copy at the gym or buy directly from Amazon.