In a time and era where all we have to do is click a button and we get instant gratification, it is hard to have the patience to wait for something. How would you feel if it took you 18 years to reach and accomplish your goal? I bet if I was to tell you that you needed to keep working hard and do it for 18 years and then you would reach your goal I wouldn’t get a single person to sign up for that program. Well, if you follow golf this past weekend Sergio Garcia won his first major championship. You see in the professional golf world you are judged on how many major championships you win. It doesn’t matter if you are highly ranked or have won multiple PGA tournaments but rather how many major championships you win. Sergio competed in 73 major championships without a win. So, what does this have to do with fitness and reaching goals? Well, I want to share with you a few things you need to take away from Sergio Garcia’s win at the Masters in 2017 and apply it to your fit over 40 journey.
First, you need to have a goal and it needs to be something big. The reason I say big is because it has to be something that gets you excited. It may be you need to lose 50 lbs and losing that 50 lbs will get you back to what you were like in college. It may be to run a marathon or compete in a triathlon. Something that is going to be a huge accomplish after you achieve it. And here is the real bonus. It is not so much the actual goal that is the reward but it is who you became in the process of reaching that goal. In Sergio’s case, he was a very electrifying and emotional player. He said if he made a mistake in his earlier years he would dwell on it and let it have an effect on his play. Finally, as he got older he learned to channel his emotions and bounce back from a setback. The same is true on your fitness journey. You are not going to win every day. Some days are going to be better than others so you need to learn what you did wrong and try to correct it and not make the mistake again.
Second, is to never give up. The fitness journey should be a marathon. It should be one of you top priorities that you focus on. As the years went by and Sergio would eventually fall short of winning the championship the burden of not winning grew. Every time he would get close to winning a major championship the media would bring up the stat of how many times he fell short, but even with all the scrutiny, Sergio remained focused on the big picture and his overall goal of winning a major championship. He never gave up and you shouldn’t either. There will be people who will say, “Oh, you are trying another diet or didn’t you try to lose weight before and not have success.” Don’t listen to the naysayers and believe that it will come to fruition one day.
And the final lesson is to enjoy the journey. Sometimes get lost along the way and forget to celebrate the small victories. Sergio said that even though he had not one a major he still was happy with his career and the wins he achieved over the 18 years as a pro golfer. That is why I recommend you break down your large goal into 12-week chunks. Once you reach those short term goals celebrate the win and then set a new 12-week goal to use the momentum to get closer to the overall goal.
In all fairness I hope it doesn’t take you 18 years to reach your goal, however, I hope you establish the mindset and belief that no matter what setbacks you go through or obstacles that get put in front of you, you persevere and reach your end destination and achieve your goal.
If you need help getting started or need a coach to get you through something please don’t hesitate to reach out. I have the Ulitmate Fitness Coaching program where I work with individuals on nutrition and fitness programming. If you would like a 10-minute coaching call to see if I can assist you then click the link here to find out more.
In Health,
Coach Dave
