1% Doubt and You’re Out!

1% Doubt and You're Out!

I've never been to a wedding where the groom looked into the eyes of his bride and said, "I Do! 99% of the time I will remain committed." Yet being 99% or even 50% committed to our goals is commonplace. It is so easy to justify to ourselves that when things get tough we can quit or sit around and hope things will get easier. So many marriages end in divorce these days because people are truly less than 100% committed to each other. The 1% doubt in the beginning grows into 2%, then 5%. And that's why I feel compelled to explain why you need to be 100% committed to your goals.

If you have been reading my blog, even for a little while, you know that I am all about setting goals. One of my more recent goals is to get in better shape. I had doubts that I would be able to accomplish this due to my lack of experience, discipline, and knowledge. I have had health problems for years. I have arthritis in my neck and wrists and I suffer from daily headaches because of my neck. I had some doubt that I could do this, not a lot at first but it was there. Unfortunately getting into better shape requires me to do two things: work out and make good decisions about what I eat. I need to change my mindset about food. My body needs energy and anything that I consume is simply fuel for my body and if I want to achieve my goal, I need to be fully aware of the fuel that I am putting in to my body. The problem isn't the amount of fuel, it's about the quality of the fuel. I wouldn't put low octane fuel into a high performance sports car, yet every day I am guilty of consuming the kind of fuel that burns me out and slows me down.

The second part of this is working out. I don't know too many people that enjoy getting up and spending an hour in the gym, on the treadmill, or lifting weights. For me this is very difficult. I started going to the gym about 3 weeks ago and already my body is in shock. In fact the gym where I work out gives new members two free training sessions (of course this is to show you the value of a personal trainer and convince you to purchase more sessions). On my second visit with my trainer, he had me work out like I have never worked out before. I felt like I was auditioning for one of those Navy Seal television shows. I understand that most of what he was teaching me is that my body is capable of so much more than my mind can conceive. The next morning I had a very personal conversation with my body. As I was lying in bed, my body gave me an ultimatum. "Don't ever do that again…" Not much of an ultimatum. I don't like negotiating with myself but my muscles were sore and my energy level was at an all time low. Quite simply, I was exhausted. I remember thinking to myself that there were going to be times when working towards my goal was not going to be enjoyable. Life is too short to spend time on things that we don't enjoy. How I was feeling in that moment was not enjoyable. Nevertheless I did what most of us do, I didn't work on achieving my goal… I stayed home.

The next time I saw my trainer, I asked him if there was anything that I could do to assist in the recovery of my muscles. His advice, "get moving and get back to the gym." I knew he was crazy, then the day following my last big workout I took his advice and got moving. I couldn't believe it, he was right I felt better the next day. I suddenly had energy again and couldn't wait for the next big workout. Sometimes in life when things get difficult, we can feel like quitting. Next time, and now I know… we just need to keep moving.

Whether your goal is to get a raise at work, pay off debt, or get back into shape. The answer is simple, you need to get moving again and keep moving. You can slow down for a breather, but don't stop. For the first few weeks, I had doubts of whether or not this was really what I wanted. I wasn't 100% committed to my goal. Even though my doubts were tiny to begin with, they were real and the soreness I was feeling reminded me of that. As we journey to our destination, it is so easy to be overwhelmed by the doubts and fears that quitting can seem to be the only option.

We have all journeyed through life. Many times we stop, halfway there, and think to ourselves this isn't going to be worth it. However, I've never met anyone that got to their destination and said that the journey wasn't worth it. These journeys could be anything. A camping trip, road trip with the family, construction project on the house, a spiritual journey, or even a journey towards your goals. I know, deep down, that this is what was needed to achieve my goal. I felt like quitting after only a couple of weeks??? You can't even call it quitting at this point because I'm not sure I ever really started. I look around at most of my friends and family and tell myself, "I'm not in that bad of shape, why do I need to work out?" The truth is that by keeping my eye on the destination I know that once I am there I will feel better, have more energy, and possibly be a motivational force for someone else to achieve their goals. On the other hand, it would be WAY EASIER to quit. People quit on themselves every single day. I wouldn't be that different…

The problem with commitment is that it is so much easier to stay focused on the little things. I was focusing on how I felt, the time requirements, and the opportunities that my time in the gym was costing me. What I need to remain focused on is the goal and the fact that I may be able to motivate others to achieve their goals as well. No one wants to learn from someone that has less success than them. So if I want to help people achieve their dreams, I need to make sure that I am capable of achieving my own first. Only then will I have the experience necessary to lead others on their own journey.

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. – Dr. Napoleon Hill