Hey, guys! How’s life? Today I am going to discuss some personality traits that are 100% essential to achieving your health and fitness goals. Let me preface these traits with the disclaimer that they have to be earned! I would also invite you to disregard the nonsensical line of bull-crap that states: “Well, that just don’t jive with my personality.” The traits that I am about to give to you are learned through application, persistence, consistency, hard work, and determination. Eventually, these traits will become second nature to you, and you will not even notice that you possess them. That is your ultimate goal, my friend! Sit back and enjoy . . . after all, this is you in a very short while!
Essential Success Trait #1: Desire
This one might seem like a no brainer, right? The desire that I speak of is an intense pulsating, nagging, and obsessive desire. I am not speaking of a mere hope or wish. Let me illustrate what I am speaking of by giving you a quote with an anonymous author:
No man will make real
changes in his life until
he is willing to pay the
price; until he absolutely,
more than any other thing
in all the world, wants to
change. Then with very little
difficulty at all, he will.
This is what I speak of when I speak of desire. Where is your desire? Are you casual about your desire to change or does it consume your thoughts? Does it drive your actions on a daily basis? If you find yourself exercising and eating clean every day, the answer is yes. If you find yourself exercising one day, and then taking three days off and eating ice cream every night before bed then the answer is NO. Your desire must become so intense that you can literally feel it as though it was tangible. Those of you who have been there know exactly what I am talking about.
Essential Success Trait #2: Decision and Determination
Once you have kindled a desire for any pursuit, you then have to make a decision to go forward. This is your line in the sand. You can have all of the intense desire in the world, but if you sit on the fence or wet your finger and put it in the wind, you have NOT made the decision that will change your life. Decision is the bridge from desire to action. This is an important distinction. One of my favorite analogies is the riddle of the frogs. Six frogs are sitting on a lily pad, and one of them “decides” to jump off. How many frogs are left? Many of you may be saying five when, in fact, the answer is still six. No, I am not a math dropout.
Many times we kindle an intense desire, and we even decide to go forward, but six months later we still find ourselves on the sofa! What happened? What happened is we failed to catalyze #2 with #3.
Essential Success Trait #3: Action
This might be the biggest no brainer of all time, but many of us turn it into a “no-gainer” because we never apply it! We can know what we know and have all the desire in the world, but until we pull our butts off of the couch and get our bodies moving to a point of discomfort, we will never change. This needs no further explanation; it just needs “doing.” Nike’s slogan is brilliant: “Just Do It!”
Essential Success Trait #4: The Ability to Embrace Discomfort
We are all creatures of habit, and we LOVE comfort zones! I will be the first one to admit this. I will also admit that I grow the most when I pull my ass out my comfort zone and step into territory that is uncomfortable. Right now, it is Saturday at 11:15, and I am writing this. I could be boating, I could be with my family, and I could be doing a lot of other fun things. I am not saying that I do not love writing; I am just saying those other things bring quick gratification that lends instant pleasure. The reason that I am doing this right now is because I see the bigger picture. I have a vision, and I will accomplish that vision come hell or high water.
If, when you encounter the first sign of resistance, you shrink and go back to your old ways, you can rest assured that you are screwed. Not only are you programming your conscious and subconscious mind in a completely self-defeating way, but you are showing yourself to be a push-over and a weakling at best. If you want to be mediocre then stay in your comfort zone. If you want to achieve and exceed your goals then stop whining every time some resistance comes your way. You will be glad that you did.
Essential Success Trait #5: Consistency, Persistence, and Tenacity!
I love the old-school Rocky movies where he is getting his head beat to a pulp but yet his resiliency keeps bringing him back up every time he is knocked down. Life is notorious for throwing obstacles at us from every direction and at a frequency that might be higher than we would like. If life has taught me one thing it is this: life is supposed to be this way! How else are we supposed to become better people? I think we all know this intuitively, but how often do we give up pre-maturely? How often in your life do you find yourself feeling sorry for yourself and giving up before the race is over? Very few of us every really understand what persistence, consistency, and tenacity mean. The only way we can truly understand them is to constantly BE them, not just know what they are. The next time you get excited to join a gym or start your next P90X video, remember to persist when the excitement wears off. Remember the virtue of consistency when your “schedule” fills up and you are faced with making time for exercise or omitting it in favor of relaxing. Remember tenacity when you feel the burn in your quadriceps as you do your squats. These characteristics must be realized if success is to be had.
Essential Success Trait #6 Passion and Attitude
When I shake a person’s hand I can tell right off the bat where that person’s passion level lies. If I get a limp-wristed, dead fish handshake I can almost (there are exceptions) assure you that that person’s passion for life is below a 5 on a 1-10 scale. Where is your passion for life? If you are one of these pessimistic,” glass is half empty,” “realist” kind of people, I have a news flash for you: people can’t stand to be around your negative ass, and secondly you have absolutely zero chance of reaching your health and fitness goals. If you just got offended by the last line, then my point is already made and you need some attitude adjusting!
The good news is this my friends: if you are one of “those,” you CAN change, and you must change if you want to change your body and your health. If not, the first time you walk into a gym you will be saying to yourself, “Oh, look at ol’ pretty boy over there! He must have great genetics,” or “I am too old for this, and my muscles get too sore for my liking!” Let me ask you a question guys: do you REALLY want to be “that” person? Do what you need to do to become more positive and passionate.
The only way to become both passionate and positive is by practice. Even if you are uncomfortable doing it at first you must push past (trait #’s 4 & 5) it until it becomes second nature to you.
Well, there you have it, my friends! I am aware that this is not a comprehensive list, but if applied, these principles will take your health and fitness (not to mention your life in general) to a whole new level of energy and enjoyment. I would like to thank each and every one of you for reading today. I feel humbled to address you and I hope that you will APPLY what I have proposed today. The results will be self-evident in your life.
Always remember . . . Life is Good!