Fitness Tip of the Day #18

FITNESS TIP OF THE DAY:

Every challenge provides us with an opportunity to either:

1. Succeed at reaching our goal, or 
2. Learn from our mistakes (which makes us better for whatever comes our way)

Ultimately, there is no negative result to any obstacle we face in life … it’s all a matter of perspective!  If everyone saw an obstacle as an opportunity versus a game that we either “win or lose”, every human being on earth would face every challenge with enthusiasm. Right?!?!

Here’s an example:

Todd is a 39 year old basketball coach who wanted to lose weight and get back into shape.  A high school coach for the past ten years, he has let his body “go” and hasn’t played competitively since he was in college.  He has gained over 50 pounds and suffers from significant low back pain. Six months ago he decided to to get started on a program to help him get back into shape, in time for his younger brother’s wedding.  His goal was to lose 50 pounds and look as good as he did back in college.

To accomplish this goal he joined a local fitness club (where his wife also works our regularly) and hired a personal trainer.  He also bought a Nike FuelBand and signed up for WorkoutBOX (a 26 week customized online workout program, training logs, and nutrition recommendations).

At his brother’s wedding, Todd was ten pounds shy of his weight loss goal.

Although he should have been happy with his 40 pound weight loss in six months, he was very disappointed. As a result, he quit his weight loss program (i.e., healthy diet and regular exercise) and regained all of the weight within three months.

In making the decision to “quit”, he overlooked all of the positive things that resulted from his six month journey, including:

• Sticking to the program for the full six months
• Losing 40 pounds (an average of over 6 pounds per week)
• Having more energy and vitality throughout the day
• No longer experiencing back pain
• Playing in a competitive men’s basketball league (once a week)
• Spending more quality time with his wife (she was his workout partner at the gym)
• Learning how to eat a more sensible diet
• Learning how to cook (and enjoying it)
• Receiving compliments from friends, family members, and students about his weight loss

He may not have reached the goal he set out when he started, but it’s obvious that he has gained a lot of knowledge and accomplished more than most could do on their own (given the same situation).

Whether you decide to feel defeated or you accept the learning and move on is entirely up to you.

Choose wisely.

Written by TodaysFitnessTrainer (trainer@todaysfitnesstrainer.com).