The courage to start and the grit to persist.

My grandfather would often say, "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."  This is not an uncommon phrase, but some people, like my grandfather, are actually qualified to use it.  If I could be half the man my grandfather was, I would be very pleased with the results of my life.  But not having been through a fraction of the hardship that he, and so many others of his generation, had to endure, makes it difficult to imagine being able to attain the level of character, fortitude and integrity that he displayed day in and day out.

He and his generation were not concerned with getting Flat Abs in 10 Weeks.  They were more concerned with things like getting enough food to eat for the rest of the week.  Or staying alive in the trenches for the rest of the day.  I think this reinforced for them the value of working for the long term.  They did not put life on hold for the depression, the war or whatever else was going on.  They had the courage to start families and plan for the future.  They had the grit to persist when things looked bleak.

We watched We Are Marshall on DVD last night.  It's a movie about the aftermath of a university town in West Virginia losing their entire varsity football team in a plane crash.  I don't want to give any of the movie away, because I think it is well worth the watch, but I will say this.  As the final credits rolled, the one thought that came to mind is the incredible courage to start and grit to persist displayed by those who decided to carry on with the program and those who worked to rebuild it.  And if you watch this film through to the very end I think you will know what I mean.

I think this is probably the best mindset to have when you set out on a new endeavor, including one devoted to your health and fitness.  It may be tempting to Lose 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks.  But its always discouraging when those pounds come back in 1 day of binging to make up for the starvation.  There are no short-cuts to anything truly worthwhile.  But if you set yourself up for the long term, making incremental progress each and every day, the cumulative effect is astounding and the time it takes to see real, permanent change, goes by more quickly that you can imagine.  Better yet, the momentum of real, solid results spurs you on to persist and improve even more.  But this can only happen if you change your paradigm to reflect a long term, lifestyle approach to health and fitness.