Whenever you set out to achieve a worthwhile goal, you should always bear in mind that achieving lasting results takes time. Although we live in a fast-paced world, one thing that you should know is that the principles that govern seedtime and harvest haven’t changed that much. There is a period of sowing, that of germination, growth, weeding, fruiting and then harvest. And fortunately or unfortunately, you can’t skip any of these stages.

In the next seven days, I’ll take you on a short trip through seven tips that will prime your mind for the second quarter of the year. They are seven tips that people who have done physical exercises either in the gym or outdoors can easily relate to. If you haven’t done that before, you’ll still be able to relate because the tips are quite simple and have ubiquitous applications.

So, over the period, I’ve realised that several things you learn while doing some fitness exercises can be applied to other areas of life. Here are the primers for day one:

1. Initial excitement often fade

Some years ago, I had a friend who wanted to build his abdominals – what is famously known as six-packs. So, we both registered at the gym close to the house and were all fired up to start this exciting trip to have perfectly shaped bodies like the ones we saw on Youtube videos.

On our first day at the gym, he was so excited about the idea of becoming ‘pumped’ in one week that he did all the exercises imaginable, using all the equipment he could find at the gym. This is often the case for people who are excited the first time they visit the gym, especially after those promotional videos you see on Youtube that give unimaginable promises.

So, we continued to go together for the entire week. However, when I called him the next week to go to the gym together, he declined. Not because he was sick, but according to him, he wasn’t seeing the results of ALL his efforts – no broad shoulders nor well-defined muscles, after the Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMS) he had experienced.

2. Understanding Patience and the fact that long-lasting results take time

The response of my friend is the response of some people towards life. You see, it’s fundamental to understand that anything worth building takes time. Many people withdraw too early from following through in their life pursuits because they feel that their desired results aren’t visible. They fail to realise that once you begin doing anything good, the results start coming in, but first in an invisible form. And sometimes, it takes months or even years before the external, tangible, concrete results will be seen and felt. 

It’s like building a skyscraper. When you’re digging the foundation metres deep and pouring in all kinds of a quality mixture, no one sees the amount of work that is being done underneath. But you keep building until it comes up to the surface where everyone can appreciate your labour.

So is life. Because the results aren’t yet visible to all doesn’t mean that they are not there. If you continue, they’ll show eventually. If my friend had continued with the training, he would certainly begin to see his body transformation after a couple of months.

3. We are cut differently

Yes, we are all created in the image and likeness of our Creator, God. But there are a few things that make us different, among which is genetics. I mentioned genetics, not necessarily because it plays an important role in bodybuilding, but to show that we have our differences.

It doesn’t mean that I must possess a particular set of chromosomes in other to have the physique that I want, nor inherit some specific set of talents in other to attain my goals in life. Not at all. What I want to emphasize is that we all germinate, grow and fruit at different paces.

We are cut differently. So, while some people can build certain muscles in a few months, it can take others a little longer to achieve the same results. In the end, they all can get there if they put in the amount of work needed.

So, don’t give up. If you keep doing the right things consistently, you’ll achieve the same results in the long run.

Thanks for reading. Please share and check out other articles here. God willing, I’ll see you tomorrow with another dose of inspiration.