Cloudy Days and "Just Barely Training"

"A misty morning does not signify a cloudy day."
- Ancient Proverb

I cringe when I hear, "It's obviously going to be another one of those days." What is this person doing? They are setting up an expectation that the entire rest of the day will necessarily be a disaster. What do you think they will find at every turn? Disaster. The sad reality is, people that think this way never see the results of their own making for what it is- self-fulfilled prophecy. Instead it is interpreted as validation of their ability to spot disaster before it strikes.

When your imagination begins to paint an expectation, your mind goes to work to complete the picture, and your subconscious-driven actions follow. What picture are you setting up to be painted at the top of every morning? Psychologists have determined that your first interaction with someone at the start of each day will have more impact on your state of mind than the next eight interactions combined. Studies also show that it takes seven positive inputs into your mind to overcome one negative input. What do you think you are doing to yourself and your day when you start your mornings with a prophecy of doom? This is why I make sure my first conversation of the day is with myself and that it is strikingly positive. This way, I take control of my day's destination.

If you are rolling your eyes by this point, then re-read the above passage with an open and realistic frame of mind... reflect.

Train, But Just Barely
Any degree of training is better than nothing at all. But you can only get out of something what you put in. Remember, losing weight isn't just a matter of going to the gym once a week. It also involves lifestyle changes. Take a walk on your lunch break, park on the opposite end of the parking lot at stores, and do more yard work (your girl will love the new you).

Small Successes

To many, success seems to come suddenly. When you observe others and what they have achieved you usually don’t appreciate what it has taken for them to get where they are. Ultimately, in failing to do this you also fail to learn what it would take for you to attain the same level of achievement and success.
But, if you take the time to truly think about it, you will find that success is usually only a small step away. Yet despite that it eludes most people. It is always so near and yet so far. Let me illustrate what I mean with a short story.

So we start off the day at sunset, walking through the thick bush. Because we are looking for direction, we have to walk in a straight line. Any slight deviation from the path and we would inevitably get lost. That means that whatever obstacle we encounter on the way had to be overcome. That straight line had to be maintained at all costs. Worse still, there is no light - we are basically walking blind in the moonless night.

So you could not see where your next step was going to land. But we have to walk fast.

So we walked through the night. No time for fear, no time for doubt. We had to do what we had to do. Our futures depend on it.

As I walk through that unknown and scary world one thought keeps going through my mind…It was… “Just take it one step at a time. Doesn’t worry about what will happen later, just think about each step… one small step to success”… That is the idea I hang on to.

So with that I find some courage to get going. Move on through grass as tall as giraffes and as tough as bamboo.Hands pierced, bruised and sliced as we search around in the dark to make a path to go through.

We conquer what seems to have been endless mountains on the way. The rocks so hard on our tired feet it was as though we had no boots on. Our legs cry for mercy from the effort of climbing up the steep slopes. We keep moving… “small steps to success.”

Every now and then a dim light appears in the distance offering some hope to find a village and get some water to replenish our fast depleting reserves. Only to disappear as we get closer.

Take a break, if you must, but don't give up. The pain and fatigue unbearable. Soon the morning will come. But no time to appreciate the sunrise.

Every step accompanied by some pain in one part of the body or other. Every part of the body was crying out for attention. But we had to move on… “small steps to success.”

Finally, we arrive. The journey of a thousand miles...

So, you see, we take small steps to success all along that hike. Together, they add up to hundreds of thousands of small steps. But we might have chosen not to take the first step. We might have stopped at any point along the way. That would have meant that we would not have gotten to our destination.

There were also obstacles along the way. But with each small step they were overcome.

There were frustrations, fears and uncertainties. But with each small step they were crushed.

There was hardship and danger, but with each small step and focus on the desired destination it was conquered. So you see, success is no mystery.

It takes only one small step to succeed.

Because, as the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said: “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

Have you taken that one step today? Why not? What is holding you back, is it you?