Be the Tortoise

You know the story, the tortoise wins the race. Being the Hare doesn't typically pay off. I saw this theory hold true during the last two weeks of the Olympic games. Many would start out strong and take the lead during the majority of the race but in the end the people trailing would often keep their steady pace and have enough gas in the end to pull through for a medal.

I think the same can be said for the race of life, losing weight and working to live healthy. While the Hare is flashy and fast at first, later he normally loses gas. This can be paralleled to the energy and enthusiasm that starting a new exercise routine and/or new diet. After the new has worn off it typically becomes more "work" to live healthy and suddenly gets very easy to be defeated. Keeping things steady and constant will aid in staying the course.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the entire race, not just the finish line. It's way too easy to look ahead and plan for the future but what about right now? Sometimes it seems, good intentions aren't enough. For some silly reason the, "what I'm going to do" and what actually happens tends to be two different stories. I'm not trying to be cynical here it's just what I've found to be true from my experience.

So what's the secret ingredient? How can we all become tortoises? Why do some succeed and others give up? Here's a list of ways to help get us there:

1. Believe.
2. Don't be afraid to go after something you really want to do even if there is a chance you could fail.
3. Perservere through hard times and try to learn from them.
4. Control what you can control.
5. Make no excuses. Figure out a way to finish through with something no matter how hard it is-get and stay determined.
6. Be realistic in what changes you are making. Don't go crazy all in one week trying to lose 5 pounds but rather tackle what you can in a timely manner.
7. Create accountability. Find someone that will hold you accountable for your life (this has worked extremely well for me as I have a group of 3 friends that hold me accountable each week).