How to stick with your fitness plan no matter what…

“Thomas Edison was asked why he kept going when he failed at creating the lightbulb 2000 times. Edison replied that he did not fail but learned that making the lightbulb was a 2000 step process.”

If you haven’t quite found your fitness rhythm, never give up. Sometimes you got to start and stop a number of times before it sticks forever!

Over the years, I have noticed a number of characteristics separate those who succeed with fitness and those who do not. Those who succeed buy into the “Four Laws of Success”. You’ve got to get your head around these thought processes.

First Law – The law of possession. You need to understand that if you are going to achieve results, it is going to be up to you. The phrases “If it is going to be, it is up to me” or “If I think I can or think I can’t, I’m right,” ring very true. You have to take ultimate responsibility for success or failure. You must be willing to make and stick to the changes. You can not completely rely on someone else like a personal trainer or workout partner to make it happen for you and likewise, you can not blame the kids or your partner for any failures.

Second Law – The law of effort. Anything worth achieving is worth working for. Exercise and healthy eating takes discipline, will power, character, persistency and a commitment to delayed gratification.

Third Law – The law of consistency. A month-long effort is not going to get you where you want. In order to achieve any goal, you must stick to your game plan on an ongoing, long-term, consistent basis. Getting off track for a week is no big deal if you are consistent in your efforts. But if you are regularly tempted away from your program, you will not succeed. Consistency and persistency are the keys to manifesting any goals. Remember that if you want to be 10 pounds thinner 10 years from now, it is not what you do over the next eight weeks that matters, it is what you do over the next 10 years. Fitness is a life-long thing! There are no short-term, quick-fix solutions. Safe and permanent fat loss often takes years – not weeks or months!! Researchers have found only one characteristic common to those who succeed with exercise. All such people move towards their goal one step at a time. They are committed to constant, never-ending improvement. In practical terms, it means that regardless of anything else – busy work schedules, lack of energy, lack of time, feeling old, feeling lazy, hating exercise – they made no excuses! They kept exercising, taking their long-term goals and splitting them up into smaller goals. They took it one day at a time.

Fourth Law – The law of self-efficacy. If you are already questioning whether or not you can actually make the required changes, you are going to have a difficult time with your program. You must believe you can do it! Think of self-esteem as a bank. Each time you keep a promise to yourself, the store of self-esteem gets bigger, making it easier to keep the next promise to yourself. Each time a promise is broken, however, your self-esteem goes down, making it easier to break the next promise. Reinforce this belief in yourself by surrounding yourself with others who are doing or have accomplished what you’re attempting. After all, if they can do it, so can you!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan