If you spend some time on the internet reading about fitness, you’d think that everyone who starts a fitness program quickly develops amazing muscle tone and six-pack abs pretty easily.
After all, look at all those before-after pictures and success stories.
Do I have success stories on my website? Sure. https://paulfsweattcpt.com/testimonials/ But when I interview my clients about their fitness journey, we don’t just talk about the successes.
Because in every fitness success story, there were a thousand missteps, mistakes and — dare I say — failures along the way.
It’s true for me, too. Some of my greatest successes wouldn’t have been possible without failing first. And I failed pretty hard a few times but that is a story for another time.
So what’s the secret to succeeding in your fitness journey and achieving the body and health of your dreams?
Failure.
You have to fail first.
You have to make mistakes and learn from them.
You see, it’s easy to keep pushing forward with your workouts and nutrition plan when everything is going great. But in my experience, the people who are the most successful in the long run are the ones who aren’t deterred by their mistakes.
When they fall off track, they learn from it and get right back on.
When they overindulge in the wrong kinds of foods, they don’t beat themselves up or let it spiral into a weekend binge-fest.
When they miss a workout — or get stuck late at work and can’t make it to the gym — they come home and do a few squats, lunges and push-ups before dinner. Some exercise is better than none.
There’s an expression, “fail forward.” If you consistently take action, trust yourself and the process, and understand that every mistake is preparing you for greater success down the road, I’d bet you’ll be a lot happier and healthier in the long run.
Your friend and trainer,
Paul F Sweatt
Train Smart. Train Hard. Train Safe. Train to Sweatt.