“The minute you think you have arrived at the door of greatness, it will continuously get slammed in your face. The key to success is to be a lifelong learner who continuously works hard to improve. When you stay humble and hungry and focus on the process, you will love what the process produces.” -Jon Gordon
When it comes to diet and exercise, we all love a quick fix; a magic pill or concoction that will yield instantaneous results. We’re in an age of “flat tummy teas” and 3 week butt boosting programs. The end goal and the “after photo” have become the sole focus, not the process and certainly not the development of long lasting habits. How fast can I get abs? What’s the quickest shortcut I can take to get fit? Ask any professional athlete and they’ll tell you that there’s no magic pill or shortcut on the path to success. You won’t wake up one morning to a chiseled physique nor will you suddenly shave off 3 minutes on your mile time. Dedication, consistency, and intentional practice are truly what surge progress and growth.
There is little we learn about ourselves through quick fix solutions. More often than not, the “results” we achieve are typically temporary. So why not enjoy the process? Give yourself an honest chance to create long lasting, healthy habits that you can share with your family and friends. It’s not always about the end goal. Even when we reach the short or long term goals we’ve laid out for ourselves, we never truly stop striving for more. Once a goal is achieved, regardless of the method we took to achieve it, there will always be a new one to replace it. There’s no point at which we “arrive”. It’s not when we achieve our dream body or after hitting the squat pr we’ve been chasing. Do you stop eating healthy once you’re at your goal weight? Do you stop squatting after hitting that new pr? Absolutely not! So why would we ever choose to limit ourselves to an end all be all destination?
Remember, there is life after the “after photo”! There are hundreds of goals to be reached and lifelong progress to be made. And in the end, do you really want to arrive at your final destination so early?