Friends, there are five elements to every truly complete transformation and believe it or not, they all begin with a P. Some of them you’ll look forward to, and some you’ll dread as they loom, but each one is absolutely certain to come along during your 12 or 18 week journey to a new you. They are the complete package, and this blog summarizes them. Let’s dive in, shall we?

            PURPOSE: Purpose is the foundation, walls and roof of your transformation. You were created for a purpose, and everything you do should be on purpose, and for a purpose. There is nothing in life as futile as doing something without a purpose. As you get ready for your transformation, think deeply about what you wish to accomplish (your goals) and also about what you will do with yourself once you achieve it. In other words, have a noble purpose, something that will benefit not just you, but others as well.  You see,  “I’m getting rid of my muffin top” is a purpose, but it is a pretty shallow one; whereas, “getting my diabetes under control so I can get back to work again” will benefit not only the trainee, but the family and others in his sphere of influence as well. So, have a carefully-thought-out, achievable and durable purpose that will last far beyond the end of your transformation.

            PREPARATION: This is critical. If you are one of those “ready, fire, aim!” kinds of folks, you will be frustrated and unfulfilled, probably ineffective too, during most of your challenge time. You have to do your shopping, your workout planning, and manage the entire structure of your life in a way that gives your transformation great priority, but which does not frustrate you or those around you. Don’t just prepare a week ahead—look way out, to anticipate any events in the time period of your transformation that you must cope with.

            PASSION:  Porter Freeman didn’t use this word, but he described it perfectly when he simply said, “you have to want it.” And, this is so hard, and so long, that you have to REALLY want it in order to last. That means starting with passion, a true desire of the mind, will and spirit to accomplish this thing.  That’s why you need the before photos to look at, the progress photos to keep you going,  and why you DON’T need to depend on the scales or the compliments of family or co-workers to keep you going. Passion has to come from within, and if you don’t have it, you’re setting yourself up for failure.  You get passion the old fashioned way, by ACTING passionately about something. Once you act that way, the feelings will follow.

            PAIN: This is the one you’re not looking forward to, but trust me—it’s truly mandatory in a great transformation. Don’t go looking for it—it’s like Enterprise Car Rental—it will come to you!  I’m talking about both physical and emotional pain here. One often causes the other, and they ride together in most peoples’ lives. But, why is it necessary? Well, why do you suppose the military and para-military groups put their elite troops through the pain of drills and survival exercises? Two reasons: it helps them to build character and endurance; and it teaches them that they can do more than they ever thought they could. When pain sets in, you’ll hear the old tapes running through your head—the ones that tell you: “that’s good enough; you can quit now; no sense in making a fool of yourself or going crazy here.” Those are the old ideas that always kept you from being the real person you want to be, and when you face down pain and keep going when every fiber in your body wants to quit, you ARE building character and endurance—as well as realizing you can do more than you thought you could.

            PERSEVERANCE: This is the lasting quality that will get you to the finish line, because of or in spite of all of the above-mentioned things.  This is also the rarest of good qualities. Without perseverance you’ll just find yourself with a collection of half-read books, half-completed journals, and half baked ideas, starting over and over again. And the saddest part of it that you won’t even realize it’s your own fault! As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings.”  The best way to ensure perseverance is to do or go through all of the other things, purpose, preparation, passion, and pain. By doing so, you will build so much value into this transformation that quitting is simply not going to be an option.

            You can do this! But you can’t do this successfully without a good deal of work in both the head and the heart! It’s a simple program, but it’s not easy. Mastering or conquering the P’s will definitely be the key to getting to the finish line safely and successfully.