A key habit I’d like you to develop: practice not quitting.
Back story…I wanted to quit my workout on Friday. I was doing a weight that was challenging, but then started to fail reps. It crossed my mind to quit and do it another day. However, knowing my schedule in the days ahead, I really wouldn’t have the time. I also wasn’t going to do anything else other than just go eat my post-workout meal anyways…so, I stuck it out. I dropped the weight 10 pounds. It was still challenging, but I stopped failing reps. I ended up having a good workout and really enjoyed it. I was glad that I didn’t quit.
It brought to mind all of the times where things got challenging. Quitting would’ve been easier, but I kept going.
A few months into the peak part of my weight loss journey in 2016, I hit a month (it was April or May) where despite my best efforts, I didn’t have a loss compared to the month before. It was so frustrating to be working that hard and not see progress. Quitting would’ve felt like the thing to do in the moment…but I kept going. I ended up accomplishing my New Year’s Resolution to lose 25 pounds that July. I’m so glad I didn’t quit.
In August 2017, I had started my doctorate in nursing practice. That November, we learned that my father’s cancer had returned and there was nothing more that they could do. I finished out the semester just fine. However, when he did pass in January 2018, I really had a hard time mentally keeping up with my course work and being able to focus. I had to take an incomplete for a class and finish it out after the end of the semester. I lost my spark for quite some time that year. I went from taking two classes at a time like my peers to one per semester. They graduated before me, but I did eventually graduate in December 2020. I’m glad that I didn’t quit.
Here’s the thing.
We’re all gonna face tough circumstances at one point or another. Quitting will seem like the obvious, easiest, best choice in the moment.
However, it’s likely the wrong one.
Instead, I’d like to encourage you to adjust however you need to, but don’t quit.
You might need to adjust your pace, your strategy, or timeline for your goal, but you should not quit pursuit of the goal.
Time is going to pass anyways!
Slow progress is still progress.
Quitting only guarantees you that no progress is made.
I’ll take a successful weight loss journey that took a little longer than I thought it would…over not losing the weight at all.
I’ll take a doctorate finished a little longer than my peers over no doctorate at all.
I’ll take a workout done imperfectly over no workout done at all.
Some of the most rewarding accomplishments are those where we faced adversity and kept going anyways.
You can do it.
I believe in you.
Sincerely,
Your friend in wellness & fitness,
Coach Candice
P.S. I first summarized this post-workout and posted it to my YouTube. You can listen/watch down below.
