Do Not Be Afraid

Those of us that are old enough and grew up watching The Wonderful World of Disney will know this little fellow.  For those that were not so lucky he is Jiminy Cricket.  I found the below pearls of wisdom today that fit in exactly with what has happened to me over the last 12 months.

“The most fantastic, magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish.”

“When your heart is in your dream no request is too extreme”

Whatever we want in life, whether it be career, holiday, new body, healthier outlook, it will not be achieved unless you commit to it and put your heart and soul into it.  Basically the two quotes above run parallel with each other.  The first one says that all you have to do is make the choice or decision to want something.  Make a wish and then strive to make it happen.  Without making that conscious decision to act or want, we will never get there.

For me, this was 12 months ago.  Yes I have always said that I only ever signed up for the 12WBT to support Julie and try to lose a few kilos myself, but it makes no difference what the reason was, it was still a conscious decision to act.  That was my wish.

Now, having a wish is fine, but you don’t get anywhere without the action.  You need to have a plan and be able to implement that plan.  As Mr Cricket says “No request is too extreme.”  This is of course only going to work if you are 100% committed and prepared to put your HEART and SOUL into achieving it.  You see this all the time from successful people.  They achieve their goals because of their single mindedness and dedication.  They make sacrifices along the way have the end goal in sight all the time.  These people aren’t just wealthy business people or top line sportsmen and women. 

I rub shoulders with a lot of these people quite often.  Why would I be hanging with this sort of people you may ask?  This is because they are normal people like you and me, only they choose to set big goals and chase them down.  These people are those that have lost 75kgs in a couple of years, or never been able to run and have then run marathons.  Some of them have gone out and done triathlons only 7 years after having 22 screws and 3 plates inserted into their left ankle from a car accident.  You don’t need to have the big job title, 3 degrees, massive bank account or a bag full of Olympic medals to be driven and successful.  You just need to put your heart and soul into your desired goal and go for it.

This is where it becomes tough for people.  We are all brought up to fear failure and the backlash that comes with it.  We would rather give in before we fail than listen to people tell you “I told you so.”  But those that do achieve don’t listen to this talk.  They expect to fall down along the way, it is part of the journey, but they get back up and keep powering on towards the end goal.  This is something I have learnt in my time whilst winning my battle with the bulge.  It hasn’t always been easy, if it was everyone would do it.  I know that, but I haven’t always understood it.  I have seen countless numbers of people give up or get down on themselves because of a poor food choice or bad weekend.  These are just those times that the naysayers are waiting for.  So what!!  Just because of a bad choice or a big weekend, does that instantly mean your heart is not in your dream anymore?  No, it just means we need to refocus and get back in the swing.  Yes it is tough to block out the comments from others and sadly not everyone is strong enough or confident enough to do so, but it is important when you make a decision to set a goal, whether weight loss, work or financially related, be prepared to have some setbacks, but be even more prepared to power on to the target.

This post today is just as much for myself, as it is for anyone else reading it.  I have had a few ordinary weeks with food choices.  But my dream is still to lose the weight, get fit, achieve my goals, but more importantly get my life back.  This is happening more and more every day.  No one could have predicted 12 months ago that within that timeframe I would have ridden a bike 200kms or run a half marathon.  These things don’t happen without having your heart in it.  These things can be done, you just have to set the goal no matter how big and shoot for it.  You just never know what might happen.

And a quick thank you to everyone that reads this blog.  In 11 months it has managed to have over 18000 views.  Never did I imagine it would have that many people coming back to look at it.