Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit Blog: Day 7

Since I wrote about “failure” earlier this week, let me now talk about success. Success is, according to dictionary.com,  “the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.”  I say it’s the drug that eases all pain and keeps you pushing toward your goal.  Now I know some of you are awesome (at least in your own mind) and don’t ever fail at what you do.  The rest of us humans have our ups and downs.  We know that a  taste of success is enough to pull you through some of your toughest challenges.

Today the 5 a.m. class weighed in for the first time. I lost six pounds.  (My goal is to get to 185 lbs)  For me, today was a success. And I wasn’t alone.  I talked to many other Fit4Changers who had struggled early and were  now walking taller and feeling stronger by the time we finished.  I heard numbers like 10 pounds, six pounds, four pounds and more. Goals had been successfully reached. As one guy said, “it makes pushing a folded towel across the gym floor make a lot more sense.”

This is a 12-week program. It’s too big to put your mind around all at once. You have to break your goals into micro-goals.  You take it one exercise at a time. One weigh-in at a time. You savor your small victories. And by the time you finish, you’ll find out that they add up to a major one.  It’s how I lost nearly 50 pounds last year. It’s like the old joke says, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Just remember to break your big goal into little goals and enjoy the ride as the little successes add up into a big one. It’s a lesson that can be easily transferred to the rest of your life.

So congratulations to my fellow PLS classmates. And I look forward to hearing about your successes next week, too.

P.S. My left knee held up.  It’s still awkward and in pain, but I got through the exercises. A couple of times I felt like I had a screwdriver being jammed into it. But it felt stronger than it has lately. So I will continue to ice it.