I think one of the most common excuses I hear when it comes to health and fitness is “Well, I’m not as bad as a lot of people!” or “At least I am not as bad as old So-and-so.”
Every time I hear this I wonder, is that really how you judge success?
Does success = not the worst?
And while I do believe that it is important to celebrate small successes (yes, the fact that you drank one glass of water today instead of zero is a success!), you must not confuse a single action with ongoing progress.
The purpose of celebrating small successes is so that you BUILD on them until they become big successes.
And, in my mind, fitness is one of those things wherein “good enough” or “better than most” is a very dangerous idea.
Let me ask you this: have you ever said or thought any of the following statements?
1) “I eat pretty well.”
2) “I am pretty active.”
3) “I feel like I’m pretty healthy.”
4) “Everything in moderation, right??”
If you have, I have one more question:
Are you 20+ lbs. overweight, have one or more health risk factors that your doctor has talked to you about, or find yourself tired, achy, or quick to anger?
If yes, then you may want to rethink how you judge success when it comes to your health and fitness.
Just because there are WAY too many people who are overworked, overstressed, and overweight, does not mean this is the “norm” or how you should judge your own health.
When I think of health and fitness, I want to know what I can do to feel AWESOME, all the time.
Do I achieve this consistently? No, but I don’t beat myself up over it because I know it’s not human to feel awesome all the time. But what it does for me is to help me know when I am slipping and gives me clear direction to get back on track.
The trouble with comparing yourself to the masses and their lack of health is that you can do just about ANYTHING and be better than SOMEONE.
There is someone out there right now that smokes five packs of cigarettes a day, eats cinnamon toast for brunch and a bottle of chardonnay with a side of Wheat Thins for dinner, and subsists on eight cups of coffee a day.
You are hopefully doing better than that person. But that isn’t saying much.
When it comes your health and fitness, good enough just isn’t good enough, and for the sake of your friends, your family, and yourself, I encourage and challenge you to rethink how you judge your success in this area.
It’s okay not to be perfect, but when you’re talking about something that is life or death, both literally and figuratively, it’s worth thinking about how you can do this thing as best as you possibly can.
You only get one shot at life, why not make the most of it?
If you need help getting back on the track to fitness success, I would encourage you to give us a call at (408) 370-1739.
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