Pushing Past The Frustration

In the journey of self-improvement, we’re always looking for the immediate results. I mean, who doesn’t love instant gratification? I still get upset when I do sit-ups for longer than 3 minutes and don’t have washboard abs afterward. We all wish that it could be easier. Seeing any sort of improvement should feel like a trade, right? Once I give something up, I should get something in return. Health and exercise don’t work on the same timeline apparently.

Here is what I have invested in the journey of better health, I am giving up my time and effort. In good faith I’d hope to reap my rewards a bit sooner but, true health is a holdout. Trust me it can feel like a long con sometimes like I’m climbing a ladder that just keeps going and going
and going
and going
and going
not meant to lead anywhere permanent.

It can be exhausting, it can be annoying, it can be boring, but that is when I have learned to just keep going. You have to PUSH.
Persist
Until
Something
Happens

To hit a plateau in your regimen can be so discouraging. I hit more than one plateau along the way. For me personally, I set goals on my endurance when I first started to train on the treadmill. The first day I was lucky to last 10 min. The next day I pushed for 15. I worked my way up until I could go for an hour without feeling any fatigue or pain in my ankles or knees. The timer was a way for me to enjoy the instant gratification and results of the work I was putting in. I was so happy.

Until one day I headed into the gym and for whatever reason, my body just wasn’t cooperating with me. I didn’t make it past the 15 min mark for weeks. The fatigue was back, and my motivation felt like it plummeted off a cliff. I wasn’t getting the validation or gratification from the timer any more so what was the point?

The truth of the matter was that I felt like I had to serve two masters. The one of vanity and the one of competition. I felt as though because I wasn’t making any major changes to my outward appearance and I wasn’t challenging and surpassing my past self then I should just stop. If I couldn’t be better than I was yesterday, then what was the point?

The cocky part of me was convinced that I’d always be on an upward trajectory. I mean it’s what I felt I deserved given that I had put up the effort and the time. The realistic part of me, now realizes that self-improvement and health are messy. It’s full of plenty of plateaus sprinkled in with crazy climbs and some uncomfortable falls. But it will all work out in the end. We all meet our destination eventually if we remain steadfast in our commitments. When we hit a wall is when we just have to keep pushing forward. When we feel like when we can give no more is when it’s a perfect time to give a little more. I just have to remember that even if I make all the right choices, things can still end up going not according to plan. Weight can fluctuate, strength can fluctuate, the drive can fluctuate but even when there is a setback we can still push just a bit further. The reward can be closer than we think.
Until next time readers…

-Bianca A.