Are you the tortoise or the hare?

We all remember the story of the tortoise and the hare...the tortoise is the hero of the story because he wins the race through slow and steady progress.  He doesn't rush out of the starting gate and try to win the race with speed.  He knows he's slow.  He knows the course is long and it will be hard, so he works with his strengths...consistency and determination.  The hare on the other hand is all about speed.  He doesn't think ahead about the consequences of bursting off the line and giving it every bit of his strength in the beginning.  He quickly realizes that he'll never make it to the end at that speed.  So he stops and rests.  And instead of getting up and sensibly setting out at a steady pace, he once again races in at full speed and the pattern continues...short bursts of speed, followed by long periods of rest.  Because of this, he has to stop and rest often which makes it so the tortoise, with his slow and steady progress, ultimately reaches the finish line first! 

You may already see where I'm going here...the same can be said for each of us in our weight loss and health journeys.  We all start out with a burning desire to get the weight off and get it off quickly...or if you're not trying to lose weight, you start out the challenge with a goal to earn every single point and to tear up the competition.  But for a lot of us, jumping out of the gate and attempting to change EVERY one of our unhealthy habits during the first few weeks leaves us feeling exhausted, bitter and defeated quickly...and, like the hare, it often seems too hard and the journey too long, so we give up and quit until the motivation reignites.  During that time, inevitably, we slide backwards a little into the emotional eating and inactivity that brought us to the race to begin with.  When we get back up and are ready to take off at break-neck speed again, we're not quite at the spot where we stopped and have to make up some distance before we begin to cover new ground.  This is a very common pattern that we consistently see around this time in a challenge (weeks 5-7).  Maybe you've made a few mistakes along the way or some poor choices have stymied your progress and you're wondering if it's too late in the race to even waste your time and effort.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO GET IT TOGETHER...NEVER!.  Every single day is an opportunity for you to get yourself out of bed and change your life.  You do not have to wait for tomorrow or Monday or next week or the beginning of the next challenge.  If you're feeling defeated because you've had a few bad days or weeks and think there is no reason to really push hard to the end, stop those thoughts right now.  The reason TODAY counts is because you are either moving toward or away from your goal.  If you've decided to just give in and eat those donuts or crawl back into bed and forget that workout, you're moving away from your goal.  Each day you allow this, you put just a little more distance between the you now...and the you you're working on being.  Every single day that you do your best (even if you're not perfect), you're headed in the right direction and that is progress.  The results may not be earth-shattering or even scale-shaking, but eventually you WILL start to FEEL and eventually see a difference.  If all you feel confident and capable enough to do today is get up and work out, do it.  That's better than nothing.  And then tomorrow or the next day or next week, you'll be confident and capable enough to get up, work out AND drink all your water in a single day.  And then you'll find yourself ready to take on the fruits and veggies or cut out the sweets.  And THAT my friends, is how YOU win YOUR race...little by little...slow and steady...consistency and detemination.  It's never too late to pull yourself together...even if you're starting small.  Your steps might be short and unsure, but ultimately, it's your direction, not your speed that is the key to your success.  

In case you missed this week's results and biggest losers, here's the breakdown...

If you are interested in having Lifetime Wellness Challenge’s blog posts delivered directly to your email, subscribe to our DAILY MOTIVATION newsletter.  If you want to know about our upcoming challenge dates and registration discounts, be sure to subscribe to our UPDATES newsletter.  And please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!