In the Bible, the word “remember” occurs 166 times. In the book of Deuteronomy alone, where God is telling the Israelites to remember what He did for them, and how to do that,, the word occurs 16   times. History clearly records both in the Bible and elsewhere what happened to the Israleites when they forgot what God had done, and started living by their own rules instead–and it wasn’t good!

The guestbook over on the Body for Life website also is a great example of what happens to people who fail to remember. They often come back after months of absence, to record that “life got in the way” and that they quit working out and eating right and–well, you know exactly what follows the “and.” They are in worse shape than ever!

Remembering is critical  if you hope to not only achieve a successful challenge but also to keep the results. So, how do you do that? Well, one of the critical ingredients to building a memory is keeping a written contemporaneous record of your achievements. In this game, we call that a workout journal. A carefully documented journal with all your exercises, meals and life experiences in it is very valuable for review purposes, and will also help you to create and realize such a significant investment in your transformation that just for that reason alone you will be less likely to let it go away.

Another great way of remembering and adding value to your transformation is to get what I call “institutional memory” by making friends and associates by participating in forums like the Transformation website, the Body for Life guestbook, or the Tracker. Even better–meet up with these people in person at a safe place and get acquainted with them. You will be amazed how quickly the common interest in transformations will have you making lifelong friends of many of these people. And not only are they lifelong friends, but they will be a quick resource when you get weak, or a crisis arrives or “life gets in the way.” They will know you, and they will love you enough to try to help you through the tough times.

As a safe place to meet, I can think of none better than the upcoming Tennessee Body for Life Champions weekend in Knoxville Tennessee. It starts on October 10 and ends on the 12th. The entire fee for the event, which includes a banquet, a keynote address by Bill Phillips, and many activities and a nice goody bag, is a very affordable $65. You can go to their website for registration details. https://www.tnchampweekend.com/

Not to worry if you are not yet a champion. This weekend is for anyone interested in fitness, and that includes YOU, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

That’s it. Invest in your transformation, in order that you remember and that you add value to it. Keep a good journal; make friends; go to events that matter; and of course, work the universal law of reciprocation by helping those who cannot help themselves.