Will You Do It, or Will You Just Talk About It?

I have spent a lot of time catching up on reading the guestbook and looking over on Bill Phillips’ website where lots of people are starting their newest transformation efforts. It’s exciting to see all the new people, all of whom are also excited and filled with both hope and energy as they set out to change their lives. Most have lofty reasons for their intended transformations, health problems, family histories of obesity-related illnesses, a health crisis of their own, a personal crisis. The reasons go on and on.

But, you know what? If past history is any indicator of future performance, only  about three weeks from the time these folks started, fully three-fourths of them will already have messed up their efforts to the point that they have effectively given up. And only about 10% or less will who have registered for the challenge will actually end up turning in a completed entry.

Why? What happens between the enthusiastic start and the wimpy ending that turns something desired and valued into a complete failure?

Personally, having done several challenges, and having failed to complete a couple of them, I think it generally boils down to what Porter Freeman said are the priorities; 1. You have to “want it;” and, 2. You have to make it a priority.

Yes, everyone thought they wanted it, in the excitement of the moment, but as soon as they got started they began to see that they also wanted lots of other things that were not necessarily compatible with the challenge. Many wanted to also drink and eat with their friends after work, or to continue their sneak-eating and bingeing. Many wanted to sleep in even more than they wanted to see that fat burn away. Still others wanted to keep peace in the family so bad that they just stopped even trying to take care of themselves. In that kind of a conflicting and confusing atmosphere, even pretending to make the transformation a priority is too much for most.

So, that’s how it goes for most. The key for YOU, the reader of this blog, is to be one of the 10%, not one of the 90%. And to do that takes showing yourself how bad you want it, by planning ahead all 84 days, or 126 days if you’re doing one at  the Transformation site, preparing ahead one week at a time, and executing to the best of your ability, each day as it comes along. It means staying in today, refusing to fail, and refusing to sell out cheaply. It may even mean getting new “friends” if your old ones are the ones trying to put you in with the 90%. It means carefully formulating the real reasons behind your efforts, and empowering yourself by writing them down in detail.

This will be the hardest thing you ever did. But, it will also be the best thing you ever did as well. Want it; make it a priority, and just do it!