It was summer of 2020 when I was told about a really cool fitness program. While it would assist with physical fitness, the main focus was mental fitness. I was fully on board to start this program and decided to take the leap. The program required me to choose a diet plan to follow, drink at least a gallon of water, read ten pages of a physical book, and do two 45 minute workouts – one of which had to be outdoors. Of course I started out with such excitement. The first time I didn’t make it pass day 3. As you can see I said the first time. I kept trying and the last attempt I made it to day 41. Did I tell you I had to follow this routine for 75 days straight? I failed! I didn’t just fail once. I failed four times! Those journeys to failure allowed three words to stand out for me; commitment, priority and integrity.
Failure has first taught me that commitment is not a one step process. In my mind, I committed to the program each time I began. However, commitment is an everyday or every step process. Some days I would not meal prep. This is where the preparation portion of commitment was neglected. Other days I didn’t set out my workout clothes or schedule my workouts. This is where the intentionality of the commitment failed. My continuous trials at the program showed me that in everything I decide to commit to, I have to be intentional with my plans and actions, and I must prepare.
Another important lesson I learned from not completing the challenge is that to maintain integrity is to maintain balance. To keep track of my progress throughout the 75 days, I downloaded an app that allowed me to check off the activities as I completed them each day. I completely forgot to mention that anytime you missed an activity on a given day you must start again from day one. The app would prompt me each time to question whether I actually completed the day or if I was essentially lying to myself. Do you remember how many times I failed? There were so many opportunities for me to keep going because the app would only know whatever I told. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I thought about “completing” the challenge without doing the work and having no results to show. That would mean I would have wasted my time starting the program in the first instance. It would also mean that I would be claiming an achievement I really could not celebrate. In the end I found that maintaining integrity was more calming than avoiding failure.
Finally, this journey to failure taught me a lot about priority. I was out in this world trying to combine wonder woman, superman and Luke Skywalker abilities. Wife duties, mom duties, being an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, and working a nine to five job were still all on the agenda. I then had to add the new virtual learning experiences for two kids, and doing my best to play my part in keeping my family safe from being victims of COVID-19. With all of this going on, the challenge that I said I had committed to just didn’t make it to the top of the list. Maybe I should have done this evaluation first, but sometimes experience is a great teacher. While 2020 had many of us reflecting on the things we make time for in our lives, this challenge showed me that all things must be prioritized to be fully attended to.
Failure is often the beginning of great realizations. The lessons I got from this round of failures are so relevant to many other journeys we embark on in life. As a real estate agent and financial coach I find that many persons are stuck in their current positions of debt, lack of savings, or not owning real estate because of previous failures. Instead of allowing failure to hinder you from having goals and creating plans, let it be the motivating factor for you to do just that. Feel free to use the lessons that I got from this one episode of failure to help you along.
Here are your Real Keys;
Commit to your goals everyday by being intentional and making preparations
Have integrity in your journeys so that you are able to genuinely celebrate your victories
Prioritize your goals and activities so that you maintain focus on what is important
I am Kathy Lloyd your Realtor® and Financial Coach.
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