Fail to reach your fitness goals? No problem, it's part of the process

Getting in shape can be like a roller coaster - sometimes you're high and other times you’re low, but you have to learn to enjoy the ride, learn from mistakes and accept you will sometimes fall short of achieving your goals. In fact, failure is an inevitable part of the journey to success, and how you react to it will determine your future.

Here are a few things to consider in your quest for a better you.

Failure is painful

No one likes to fail, but if you step back, re-evaluate and figure out what you could have done better, you can use the pain and humiliation as motivation to achieve success in the future. Nothing can light the proverbial fire under your rear end faster than fear of embarrassment, and no amount of positive reinforcement will replace the real and frightening feeling of falling short of your goal.

So learn to accept the fact that there will be bumps along the way and condition yourself to view failure as nothing more than another opportunity to grow.

Failure builds character

You have two choices when you fail - you can give up or work harder. The more you learn to bounce back from adversity, the stronger and more confident you will be. After all, everyone is happy when they are winning, but the true test is how you conduct yourself when you are losing and things are not going your way. Learning to never give up and continue trying is a very important part of the process.

Failure teaches life lessons

Some of the greatest lessons in life were taught through failure because mistakes serve as lessons for the future. Failure shows us that we can't always win, but if we learn to give our best it becomes habit-forming, and the more we try the greater our chances are for success. Each and every time we fail is another chance to reinvent ourselves and come back stronger, wiser and better prepared to achieve our goals.

Failure puts us in the company of greatness

Michael Jordan, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln and Walt Disney all have something very important in common - they all experienced numerous painful failures before they ever made their mark. If they decided to let these shortcomings define them, the world would surely be a different place. So learn to get up not give up and continue working toward your goals.

Failure breeds winners

The truth is, life is full of talented underachievers. It's those who learn to make the most out of their failures and learn from their mistakes who will be the winners of tomorrow. The next time you find yourself sulking because you fell short of your expectations remember, "You fail all the time, but you aren't a failure until you blame someone else."

So if you are trying to get in shape, lose weight or just reach a personal fitness goal, there will be ups and downs along the way. How you chose to react to them will determine your chances of future success. If you understand that failing is just part of the process and quitting is not an option, you are well on your way to achieving your goals.


To send a question to the Ask the Trainer column, email Chris at Askthetrainer@antoniostraining.com.