We all know consistency is key when it comes to reaching your goals – you’ve just got to keep moving forward. It’s just hard when there’s just so many reasons that we come across to quit. Well don’t let this be one: Let’s rewind back around 20 years, and look at the formation of a ridiculously competitive man: Growing up I used to do everything with my older brother, every night in our back garden we would play sports, anything we could compete against each other.
Being the younger of the two, I would always lose, he had four years on me, so he would give me a chance by lowering his level, but that just made me more determined! There would be days that I ran so hard that I would end up going inside to mum crying. One day our dad took us to play golf at the local pitch and putt course. My brother had played a couple times before me and they agreed that I should join them and have a go. Unlike the other sports we weren’t really competing against each other; we were just playing for ourselves – but I didn’t see it like that! I just looked at how rubbish I was compared to him and got frustrated, and as anyone can tell you, frustration is terrible for golf, I mean, you’re supposed to be relaxed! This made me even worse, and even more frustrated. My brother started playing with others whilst I gave up. Coming back to the present day and he’s now a professional golfer. So what’s the take-home lesson from this as far as fitness is concerned? You are on your own journey and you must remember that. Be inspired by others, but don’t let their excellence get you down. I was a 10-year-old taking his first few golf swings and tried to compare myself to someone who was not only my elder but who went on to earn a full-time income from swinging a club. Of course I wasn’t going to be at his level. But had I stuck at it I’m sure I would’ve been OK, maybe not a professional, but good. Comparing yourself to others can be intimidating, overwhelming and frustrating. And there’s no need to do it. We are bombarded today with heavenly bodies, physical specimens and athletic freaks. I understand the thought of ‘look how amazing that person is compared to me’ and the subsequent feeling of worthlessness. I firmly believe that we should all try and achieve our own potential, irrespective of others, we owe it to ourselves to achieve our potential. Dwayne Johnson, above, right, is a guy who pretty much won the genetic lottery. I could train for 500 years and never get to his size … but should I give up?! Heck no! Should I be inspired by his attitude and work ethic? Absolutely! We all have our problems to deal with and are at different stages on the fitness road. Simply look at what you want to accomplish in the long-term but also the short term. Your journey starts from right now. Don’t quit like I did. As always contact me if you think I can help you. l I can’t leave this article without sharing my golfing goal – I’m going to buy my own clubs and complete at least three rounds of golf by the end of this year. Not quite Tiger Woods but it’s a start.
