Having read a lot on successful people and listened to a lot of blogs and watched a lot of videos, it's clear that failure is a must if you want to succeed. It seems that all the top people swear that, without failure, they wouldn't be where they are today. But it isn't the failure that took them to the top, it's the lesson they learnt and the ethos of never giving up despite the failures that helped them to their destination...resilience.
Now don't get me wrong, resilience and failure are not the only things that helped: work ethic, education, reading, support, determination and sometimes a slice of luck also helps when you are trying to succeed in whichever Avenue of life you are walking. And I think that this is also true of losing weight and trying to grow into a healthier lifestyle.
Too often, when we are trying to lose weight, we eat something we shouldn't or lose focus for a few days and then beat ourselves up so vigorously that we give in and go back to eating junk and residing once more in a sense of self-loathing that actually makes us eat more than we were before we even started. We do this instead of doing what we should be doing...taking stock of what happened, analysing why it happened, finding a way to make sure it has the least possible chance of happening again, resigning yourself to the possibility that it might and what steps you will take if it does, and then carrying on with what you started.
Success in losing weight and success in business is exactly the same, I think. Without that reflection and analysis of things that go right and things that go wrong we will give in at the first hurdle or failure. That's why I need to write this blog, why I stay with it regardless of the numerous failures I've had. Some I've reflected on, learnt and have not made the same mistakes again; some I haven't and have made the same mistakes. Some I've reflected on and still made the same mistakes: it's not an exact science!
And this is where reflection is so important, I think, when you are trying to lose weight. It really is a campaign with battles won and lost and mistakes made and lessons learnt. You won't win every time but you have to be determined to not let the losses lose you the war.
No matter the takeaway you've had or the night at the pub or the tub of ice-cream, note it, reflect and understand what lead to it, learn from it, forget it and move on. The next day, as Catnap99 said on www.healthunlocked.com, should start with a clean plate. Look back on how far you've come, what you've changed, where you want to go, how you're going to get there and how long it will take and you'll be back, as determined as ever to keep going, just as I am.
Nothing is going to stop me, I will keep going until I've lost the weight and I'm living the healthy lifestyle I want to lead. I will continue to fail, I will continue to learn, I will continue to carry on regardless knowing that I will succeed eventually. And so will you.
Thanks for reading.
Stay strong. Stay honest.
Sean.