On the EAS Insider Blog on the Body for Life website, this year’s champions have been writing about the reasons to send in your challenge entries.

I’ve written many blogs about starting your challenge strong. I’ve told people that a guestbook post that says “Woo Hoo, here we go!” is not all that’s required to start strong. In fact, that kind of “mile wide–inch deep” enthusiasm won’t last a day. What it takes to start strong is an investment.  Not just an investment in money, you really need an investment in carefully thinking about what it is you’re doing, why you are doing this, and how you will get it done. This takes reading the literature very carefully, planning even more carefully, and executing each day’s chores with precision and focus.

But, what I really wanted to write about today was finishing strong, because there are a couple of things you can do right now to make that much simpler.  In order to truly finish strong, you need to end your challenge in an official way. That means sending in a packet. That means taking both before and after photos. So, if you’ve just “started” your challenge, but you didn’t have the courage to take before photos, I really want to encourage you to stop right now, get a tripod and your camera, take those before photos and start over.  I’m not generally in favor of starting over, but when you didn’t take before photos, as far as I am concerned you really didn’t start.

Why is doing this officially important if you don’t care whether you win? It’s all part of that investment thing. And, it’s also all about how much you care. I guarantee you that NOTHING will give you more fire to start and stay strong, and to finish even stronger than looking at those before photos. Yes, they will mortify you–because they reveal truth that you have been denying for way too long. In fact, it is that fear, shame and embarrassment that keep you from asking someone to take your photos. The best news I have for you is one word–TRIPOD! It keeps you from bothering friends and family, and keeps your dignity intact as well!

So, why do an official challenge if you “know” you can’t win?  See, thinking or “knowing” you can’t win keeps you from even trying to win. You need a really good reason to do this, just to keep it up, but starting out by deciding you can’t win is a weakening thought that will only hurt your challenge. I wish I could tell you how many guestbook posts I’ve seen from people who didn’t take before photos, and were in the end so terribly sorry they didn’t because they got terrific results. Imagine how much better they would have done had they had the added incentive of thinking it was possible!

Please, enter the contest and turn in the packet. If you do so, you’ll be in elite territory whether you win or not. Less than 5 % (my estimate) of those beginning a challenge ever finish and turn in a packet.

In the end, you never know who is going to win! I know a guy who finished his challenge–which he did for another reason than winning–and then after he had sent it in, threw all this stuff away, even his copy of the entry. It was, after all, going to be his last challenge, and it did turn out to be his last official challenge. Because he won! Winning was great, but it was a bit embarrassing to ask them to send me my essay copy.