By the time you read this post I’ll be getting ready for my 5-mile run. I learned pretty quickly that if I don’t get my run or workout done early in the morning it just doesn’t happen. Some people prefer to workout in the evening but that just doesn’t work out well for me! Plus, doing a cardio workout in the morning sets me up for the rest of the day…it gives me more energy and I’m more likely to make better food choices. I remember back when I was doing Insanity….I told everyone that Shaun T was my caffeine. If you’ve ever done Insanity then you totally know what I mean!! 30-45 minutes of Shaun T in the morning and you are buzz-buzz-buzzing around the rest of the day!
It’s hard to believe, but this Sunday I’ll be running in my fourth half-marathon–the Capital City River Run which takes place in Lansing, MI. It’s a beautiful course that gets a lot of national recognition. In fact, there will be a runner participating from every state except South Dakota. (What’s up with that South Dakota??) The CCRR was my first half-marathon which I did shortly after I finished my first round of P90X over 2 years ago. I remember being soooo nervous about it! But this time around I’ll be more focused on my sister who will be doing her first half-marathon. She suffers from asthma but doesn’t let that get in her way!
It’s funny though…I was talking to a friend of the family the other day and when she asked “So what’s new?” I told her I was training for a half-marathon. She said, “Oh well…running must come easy for you. You’ve always been in such great shape!” I appreciated the compliment, but GEEZ! Nothing could be further from the truth.
Sometimes when we look at other people and where they are we don’t take into consideration where they’ve been. We can’t help but to compare ourselves to them. This is more or less human nature but it’s a surefire way to set yourself up for failure. We tend to base our own performance on someone else’s journey, and when things don’t line up the way we expect, it causes a lot of frustration. Maybe you’re frustrated because you haven’t reached your fitness goals, your business goals, financial goals, personal goals, etc. That’s OK! Just know that God’s timing is always perfect and He doesn’t want you to give up!
Every week on Monday Beachbody coaches have a special training call that we listen to called the National Coach Call. We catch up on the latest news going on with the company, and a successful coach shares their story. At the end of the call we usually get a little pep-talk from Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler (seriously, I look forward to this call waaaay more than any training I ever received from my day job!).
On this week’s call Carl said something that really stuck in my head. He talked about the success of P90X and how everyone just kind of assumes that P90X was a huge success right out of the gate. But did you know that Beachbody went through 22 versions of P90X infomercials before it started to gain any kind of momentum? It took over 2 years! In fact, some of his co-workers told Carl to give up on the whole idea! They said, “people don’t want to work that hard to change their health.” And well…you know how the rest of the story goes! Since then Beachbody has sold 4 million copies of P90X (that’s approx $600 million). Um, yeah.
It sort of struck a chord with me because what if Carl had given up on P90X? It’s highly possible that I never would have experienced my physical transformation. I never would have become a Beachbody coach or quite possibly fulfilled my lifetime goal and dream of working full-time from home. All because ONE person didn’t give up on something they believed in 100%! And not only did Carl’s decision change MY life, it changed the lives of thousands of other people too!
Do you have to be the CEO of a powerful company to make a huge impact on the world? Certainly not! But have you stopped to think how your actions and persistance, either positive or negative, can affect the lives of those people around you? And you may not want to change the world, maybe you just want a special loved one to be healthy. It will never happen if you give up on yourself.
My point is…the path to success is NEVER a straight shot to the top! We all have our struggles, and just cuz you might fall down a few times doesn’t mean you need to give up. It’s like the Japanese proverb: FALL DOWN SEVEN TIMES AND STAND UP EIGHT. I’m inviting you to follow my path to success but be forewarned that it will NOT be a straight shot to the top…you WILL fall down and scrape your knees. So if perfection is what you’re after please go find another coach!
Otherwise, get ready to hang on because this is going to be the ride of your life! 🙂
Amanda is a wife, toddler mom, PMAD survivor, certified nutrition and running coach, recovering perfectionist, and minimalist-in-training. Her mission in life is to help others get off the pity potty, embrace their own brand of weirdness, and get after their dreams. Proverbs 3:5-6