So What? Don't Give Up Now!

My quest for the body of Laila Ali has been in progress for a while. And this morning I felt the push, excitement, and anxiety of it all. After walking with weights for 40 minutes, I came into the house, got something to drink, and began participating in Total Body Sculpt with Gilad on FIT TV.

As I participated, it came to me that I had been here before! Literally and figuratively, two years prior I worked out daily; running 3 miles and 3 times per week I participated in spin classes. And now, I find myself at the same place again. What happened? I gave up. It got to be too much, instead of making it a part of my Life it was something else "to do". At the moment that came to me, I was on the floor doing crunches just as I had done before. My spirit, said to me "Don't you give up now!"


"Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." Thomas Edison.
Often times, we spend our time looking at how far we have to go or what has to be done to get to the end of our vision or achieve a goal. When we do that we end up defeating ourselves. Sometimes it happens when we are within reach of the goal, yet we do not know it. Surely Thomas Edison did not know how close he was to creating the light bulb when he did it; he only has a feeling that it was close. When Charles Brooks was working on a new way to have streets swept, imagine what it would be like if he had given up before creating the street sweeping truck. Our world would be a different place if people simply gave up when they were close to reaching their goal. What drove them to continue, in spite of the challenges?


Challenges are not unique to anyone that is simply a fact of life. How challenges are dealt with happens to be unique to each person and it begins in the mind. Jack Canfield, one of the authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul, was featured in The Secret. He talked about how his Life was with family dysfunction, hard times, what he had been taught by parents about money, etc. all the things that make up our "hard luck" stories. The poignant moment in his appearance came when he stated all that "story" and stuff is "So What?". "So What?" your parents were divorced, "So What?" you failed last time, "So What?" they do not like you, "So What"? Every person has challenges to deal with in Life, challenges are not unique, it is your mindset about those challenges which determines how you will come out one the other side. There are four ways to be when going through Life which if taken on in all areas of Life, at all times, will guarantee that you will meet and overcome challenges.


1. Be Diligent: Never give up. Diligence is giving consistent effort to accomplish a goal. Take the stand that there are going to be challenges no matter what happens. And that challenges are neither good nor bad, they just are a part of Life. Be consistent and continue, NEVER GIVE UP!


2. Be Patient: Patient is "bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like". How is that for a definition? Know that things are going to happen and take them as a part of the journey. Being patient builds your ability to be calm and refrain from complaining. The phenomenon of attraction is true whether you like it or not. The more you complain about something the more get more of that something. Be patient, refrain from complaining. Be patient.


3. Be Faithful: Faith is not Belief! Faith is active, belief is passive. Put motion to what you want. Use your faith, step outside of the box and your comfort zone! Make each day a day to stretch closer to your goal. Have faith that what you are setting out to achieve will come to pass.


4. Be Focused: What are you focused on? Be focused on the things that you want to happen. Do not get overwhelmed by the things you cannot change. Take on the laser view of where you are headed. Focus takes knowing what you want and being attracted, paying attention, and taking action around it. What are you focused on? Line your focus up with what you want!


There is a way to "be" going through Life. The word "be" is defined as "to exist or live, to take place; to occupy a place or position". You are able to exist or live and occupy a particular place in whatever challenge you face. You determine what that is going to be. So, I'll be walking each day, eating fruits and vegetables, and hanging out with Gilad, until I see Laila Ali emerge in the mirror, once again!


I can't give up now! Don't You Give Up Now!

Sidney