Determination

Determination is an interesting thing. Every year millions of people pledge themselves a better health life, a better fitness life, a better year physically, mentally and emotionally. But what do people really do? They power through a month of change because in the beginning it sounds great! "This is going to be easy." they think. "I'm finally determined to change my life." 

The problem is it's easier to be lazy than to exercise. It's easier to make excuses than it is to be dedicated. "I don't have time," you say. "I just don't feel like it," is what you mean. "I'll get to it again tomorrow," you try and trick yourself into believing, but we know that when tomorrow comes you're not going to do it because deep down it's easier to stay the way you are than to put in the work fixing yourself. We don't do it, because it's easier not to. 

True dedication happens when you finally reach that moment of being so beyond fed up and disgusted with the way things are that you have no choice but to change them. When the excuses are no longer more important than your goals. When your body says, "I'm tired" but your mind says, "Get up and do it anyways," and you LISTEN. When your muscles ache from the day before but your goals are more important than the pain. True dedication starts when you stop making excuses and start making time. 

I once read, "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly," and at first I didn't understand what that meant. Reading further along the article, I read that if it's worth it to you, you'll do SOMETHING instead of doing NOTHING. It's better to brush your teeth for 30 seconds if 2 minutes sounds like too much right now. It's better to drink a sip of water if a cup sounds too overwhelming. I started implementing this as a belief and noticed changes even just in a matter of a few weeks. I stopped making excuses and started making time. I stopped saying "I can't do that," and started saying "I'm going to do that!" I stopped believing I was incapable and started believing in myself. I can. I'm going to. I will conquer my goals. You can too. You just have to stop making excuses for why you can't, and look for all the opportunities where you can.