It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Having big goals is frustrating. It can often feel like we'll never get to where we want to be. It's easy to think about the amount of time and effort it will take to accomplish our dreams, and just give up. Don't.

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." - Earl Nightingale

One of the most frustrating things about fitness is that it takes time to see change. You go to the gym and have a great workout. You get home. You look in the mirror. And... you look the same. You do the same thing every day for a couple weeks... and you still look the same. You think, "Fuck it. I can't do this." So you don't. You give up.

After all, the girls you look up to have YEARS of experience. You'll never get there, right?

There's a saying that goes:

A man says "I really want to go to medical school, but it takes at least 7 years -- and I'll be 50 in 7 years!" A wise friend replies, "And how old will you be in 7 years if you don't go?"

When it comes to fitness goals or life goals, don't let the amount of time it will take to get to where you want to be overwhelm you. It might take 6 months, 1 year, or even 5 years. Right now it might seem like forever. The truth is that the time will go by anyway. One day it's going to be 5 years from now and you'll either be so glad you kept working towards your goal, or wish that you had.

Life isn't a sprint. In a world with the internet and social media, it's easy to get caught up in the instant gratification. We can get almost anything we want with an Amazon Prime order and 24 hours of sitting on the couch. Dreams don't work like that. You can't rush order them. They take time, but keep going. Let the difference between where you are now and where you want to be inspire you instead of scare you.

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My Story

I used to view fitness as a sprint. I wanted to reach my goals as fast as possible. I would diet strictly for a few weeks in an attempt to get abs. Then, after it didn't work I'd go back to eating like shit. I would get so frustrated with myself and I HATED my body. Missing the gym for even just a day or having piece of cake at a birthday party gave me such bad anxiety. I slowly began to hate exercising because I viewed it as a sort of punishment for eating. I had the worst relationship with food and myself.

Then one day I got so fucking tired of it all that I decided I didn't care anymore. I didn't care what I looked like. I didn't care what I ate. I did what I wanted, instead of what I felt like I had to do in order to look like all the pretty girls I was constantly flooded with pictures of on social media. I began to focus on being healthy instead of being hot.

When I stopped trying to rush things so much, I finally started to fall in love with fitness again. I ate to fuel my body. I lifted to challenge myself rather than punish myself.

I slowed down.

Over time my body began to change into something that I'm finally proud of. I've reached a lot of my fitness goals and I'm constantly working on improving. Most importantly, I've grown so much mentally throughout my journey. If I could tell the insecure high school me anything, it would be to calm down and don't be so hard on yourself.

Life is not a sprint. Trying to rush things will just leave you exhausted and unhappy. Breathe. Take your time. Trust the process. You'll get there one day.