P90X: "Momentum" Day 31 of 90

Every journey with a goal has two critical points where 'quitting' becomes a serious threat.   

One place is at the very beginning.

In the beginning, everything is hard.  Your existing situation may look hopeless.  The journey looks long and the destination is so far away it may not be physically or emotionally visible to you.  It takes a lot of courage to plow through that point.  There is a lot of hard work, a lot of learning and a lot of faith.  At those times, the milestones come quickly and it is very obvious that you are progressing.

Why is it obvious?  Because the journey is so foreign to you that every day brings something new.  As you pass each new point, the journey is very conscious.  You can also, at this point, see your own progression as you learn and change.  Every journey begins this way.

During that first part of the journey, if anything messes up those milestones, the towel could get thrown in at any moment.

The other place in a journey where 'quitting' becomes a threat is about one third through it.

Why?  There are a few reasons. 

First, nothing about the journey is really new anymore.  There may be some slight changes to the process, but not like at the beginning.  Monotony sets in.  It feels like you are doing the same thing day in and day out.  You want to feel what you felt in the very beginning.

Second, you can see how you improved.  You see results, but not the overall result you were shooting for.  The monotony starts to speak to those first sets of results and tell you that you have done enough.  “Let’s try something new,” it says to you.  “Maybe this is as good as it gets,” it echoes into your brain.

Lastly, the goal you originally set is still over the next horizon.  It still looks far away and you can’t see it.  Like a traveler in the desert who comes upon the first oasis, maybe there IS no more water.  Do I really need to go on?

In P90X, this is where I am (and if you are reading this blog while you “X”, you too) right now.  Thirty days have passed.  Four weeks and two days.  I have looked at my workouts for Phase 2 and they look pretty much the same.  Some things are slightly changed but they will be pretty much the same…same DVD, same people, same reps.  Same, same, same.

I have seen definite improvement.  It has been noticed by many around me.  I also see some of the same stuff hanging off my body as when I started.  In truth, there is less, but it didn’t disappear.

I am still sixty days away from the goal.  What was the goal?  I forget.  Just kidding.  It was to give this thing ninety days and not quit.  “Maybe I overshot the runway on that one?” says your brain.  I still don’t look like Tony Horton.  Probably never will.  In your own mind, you begin to sound like Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh.

WHAT DO YOU DO??

You need to stay motivated.  This is your “one thing” right now.  Don’t throw it away and look for the next thing simply because right now it feels like you are pushing a big rock up a hill and there is still a ways to go.  When you get past THIS point, you will have achieved something very special and I can share with you what that is because I have been at the point many times.

When you beat this part of the journey you will have given yourself a gift that no one else can give you.  It is something only you can give to yourself and it cannot be taken away ever.  Everybody who ever achieved a goal had to make it through this.  When you do, your journey will NOT be over.  But, you will be at a point where the destination is in sight.  The really hard stuff will be over and you can push hard to the finish line.  You will have learned how to motivate your SELF.  I said many passages ago that this is done “alone.”  Well, this is the part of your success story that you write yourself.

This is not just a journey to fitness.  This is a life experience that you can and will take with you to all other aspects of your life.  Pass through Phase 2 here and you will have conquered every part of the success lifecycle.  When you take up that next goal in your life, and you get to this point, it will be very familiar to you.  You will KNOW with certainty that by perseverance and discipline, when you come through this part, you are moments away from the finish line...and you WILL be successful.  You will know because you have done it before.

If you quit now, you will never be able to say you did this.  If you quit now, the next time you are trying to achieve something, this part will be there waiting to challenge you one more time.  It will have beaten you before, it will be waiting to beat you again.

You have MOMENTUM.  Use it.  Cruise with it.  This part of the journey requires nothing more than dogged determination and persistence.  And FAITH.  A word I learned the real value of last year.  Some of you will get that, I say to myself with a smile.

Give yourself this gift.  You will never regret it.

Tonight, a new DVD.  I will let you know how it goes…as always.   

 [later that day]

Okay, I had forgot what the first time of a new routine feels like.  I remember now.  My muscles crashed so many times during that routine my insurance rates probably went up.  I am a little disgusted and depressed.  I should have also remembered to look at the DVD first to ensure I had all the equipment.  The push up handles would have come in handy and I could have avoided the Scavenger Hunt in my garage for a frisbee to do the pushups.  It didn't matter.  The breaks did not help my endurance at all.  Tomorrow, I will be hurting for sure.  One arm pushups, on my knees....ZERO reps.  I tried twice but my face kept getting dented from smacking the floor...so I marked zero on the sheet.  There were a couple of very light rep exercises because I just couldn't budge a muscle.  I also didn't do well the last phase in the first outing of weights because it takes at least one round to baseline your reps and weights.  I did the Ab Ripper X first and did the full workout...so that was the redeeming quality.

Will let you know in the AM how stressed the muscles got.