Winning is not just attainable in sports. We win when we reach our goals, we win when we achieve our dreams, we win when we conquer our fears, we win when we are happy and most of all, we win when we smile at the end of the day knowing we gave it our best shot.
The first step is setting our goals, it could be health/fitness goals, it could be your dream job, it could be a perfect GPA, it could be changing personality flaws and most of all it could be making a difference in others lives.
1) You make excuses:
Making excuses takes many forms. From "oh I'm on vacation" all the way to "I have a broken leg". While some excuses are more serious than others, they all end up being barriers to your goals. As long as you keep making excuses, you will be unable to reach your goal.
The winner: "I have a broken leg, but my goal is to stay fit and so I will go to a fitness center 3 x a week and exercise my upper body, I will compensate for my lack of mobility by eating healthier and reducing my energy intake"
A personal story: I was on a 2 week vacation in Washington and couldn't afford buying day passes to the gym. Instead of using this as an excuse not to exercise, I decided to sign up for 3 day trial passes to one gym at a time until I had free access for the entire vacation.
2) You live in the past:
You could stare at your current and past pictures as long as you like, it won't change a thing. You're a person who grows in life. What's the purpose of the past if you choose to live in it instead of growing out of it?
The winner: "I used to be overweight but that won't dictate my future. I will act like who I want to be in the future and therefore I will be that person when the time comes". Reaching your goal needs a good attitude and time, if you are stuck in time then how will you ever reach your goal?
A personal story: I grew up being a Water Polo athlete and stopped at the age of 16 thanks to an injury, a busy high school schedule and loss of motivation. At the age of 18 I wanted to return to playing again but never had the courage to. I was living in my present and past rather than looking forward. My past was telling me "It's been 2 years, forget it". At the age of 20 I pushed myself to work hard and joined a competitive team in Canada, it took me 3 years but I finally became the athlete I never thought I could be. If I can do it, so can you.
3) You have tried, failed, then quit
The biggest lie you were ever told is that failing makes you a failure. I wish I was taught otherwise in school and in the sports I grew up playing as a child. I learned this a bit later in life, failing does not make you a failure, quitting does. It's very simple, the difference between you and the winner is that the winner failed many times but got up every single damn time and did it all over again, until they succeeded. Bill Gates didn't build Microsoft in one try.
The winner: "I failed to make the starting lineup in my sport this year, but I will work double the amount my teammates do during the off season so I could make the starting lineup next year"
A personal story: My friend and I were at the gym and we saw an elite athlete chest press 120 lbs dumbbells in each hand. I told my friend "I will be able to do that one day", he laughed at me and said its impossible given my body structure (he studied kinesiology). I made it a goal since that day, this summer I finally reached it. It took me 3 years of failing, getting up, changing my approach and trying again.
4) You are easily intimidated by others
Many of us are easily intimidated by others, some of us are intimidated by the super fit people at our gyms, others such as athletes are intimidated by their teammates who they think perform better than them. The bottom line is that letting this intimidation get to us will only stop us from putting in 110% effort. This unfortunately is more common among females. Trust me when I say this: even the super fit person had to start somewhere, they weren't born this way.
The winner:"Yes I am lifting little weights compared to the huge guys in the corner lifting 5x the amount I am lifting. However, I could not care less about them. When I'm at the gym I will make it about my body and my health. I will work at my own pace and I one day others will be looking up to my strength"
A personal story: Whenever I tell my friends "just go to the gym and start exercising" their #1 response is always "easy for you, you're already fit" which I always answer back with "well guess what, I wasn't born this way and had to start from the bottom at one point". Once you surpass the bottom, it becomes the past, and remember, we don't live in the past :)
Promise yourself you will keep failing and trying, conquer every excuse until there are none, work your way up from the bottom until you look back at it leaving it in the past and finally, not care about what others think about your journey to reaching your goals.
But if you are already happy where you are, then congrats :)!
Love it, or use fitness & nutrition to change it,
Mohamed
No comments:
Post a Comment