At the studio, one way we market ourselves to the community is by running 4 or 6 week fitness challenges. Fitness challenges (as well as most fun challenges like writing, reading, etc) are exciting and fun. I love seeing all the new people come into the studio ready to take on the challenge, determined to lose some weight, tone up, build stamina and ultimately gain confidence. In the 28-42 days, people develop new habits, and learn many tips and tools to help them continue on their healthy lifestyle.
Recently we also completed a 21 day Instructor Challenge at the studio to record our results as we worked out, ate off the meal plan and added supplements to our routines.
Being in the challenge frame of mind, I have been paying attention to who ultimately wins the challenges and sees the most growth and success and who doesn’t. What I noticed is that it is quite easy to identify short term winners and long term winners. I call these two groups the “Escape Artists” and the “Those who Surrender.”
The Escape Artists: There are people who are counting down to the end of their challenge date so they can be done and proud they completed it. I call these people are looking for the moment of escape. A date when it is over. A date when they are free to do whatever they want to do again. Most of the time a date when they can pick up their old lifestyles and bad habits again.
Those who Surrender: The second type of people are those who surrender their old lifestyle in order to build a new one. They ask questions. They are coachable. They want to learn. They understand that at the end of the challenge they want to emerge like a butterfly, capable of maintaining or continuing their journey with the right community and friends cheering for them. They know that to sustain a healthy lifestyle that many people are looking for, the changes developed during a challenge are long term, not over because the date of the challenge has ended. Typically these people learn the most about themselves, their habits, and their choices over the course of the challenge, and develop the confidence to make healthier choices and habits for the rest of their lives.
Maybe you are not necessarily looking to take up a fitness challenge, but maybe it is something else that is challenging you? How are you approaching it? Are you an escape artist counting down the seconds until it is over or one who surrenders your ego, status, current habits to evolve into something better and use the challenge to help define the person you are becoming?
By surrendering, you will be more open to the situation. You will make decisions more clearly. You will learn to adapt and grow. You will find creative solutions to short-term problems. And most importantly, you will take the steps in the right direction to ultimately win the challenge. The choice is yours on how you approach different challenges in life, but as an end result, I always look ways that a challenge will improve my life forever, not just for those short few weeks.
