At the end of every year millions of Americans approach the New Year with grand illusions of what the next year may hold.  Americans set great goals and resolutions with the best of intentions on reaching them.  Studies show that the most common resolution made by Americans, is a resolution to lose weight or to get in shape.  With this proven statistic, it is not surprising that health clubs around the country experience the greatest increase in monthly memberships during the month of January.  Why is this?  Well, everyone who is excited about tackling the New Year and ‘getting fit’ or ‘losing weight,’ goes out and purchases a membership so they can have access to the right equipment to help them meet their goals.  Not only do they buy a membership at their local gym, however, they also spend money on new athletic shoes, and appropriate workout attire.  The emotional high that one experiences when setting such a goal is a great feeling, however what happens when those feelings are gone?  Have Americans learned to stick when that euphoric high is absent and the pain starts to creep in?  The same study that highlights that the most membership’s health clubs sell take place in the month of January, also highlights another mind boggling statistic, and that is the fact that in the month of February, health clubs around the country experience the largest decrease in attendance all year!!  What does this tell you?  That Americans have great dreams; however they do not know how to stick when it starts to hurt.

I grew up running track and cross-country since I was a young kid.  I understood that in order to get faster, I would have to work hard and I would not necessarily see the results until months and even years down the road.  After taking a break from running for a while, I have started back up nice and slow a few months back.  I say ‘nice and slow’ because I cannot run fast right now if I tried.  I do not recall running being this painful while trying to get back to the physical shape where I once was.  I understand however that anything worth achieving takes time and dedication.  And so it is in life, no matter what one sets out to accomplish, there will always be obstacles in ones path.  Without pain you will experience no gain.  Orrin Woodward’s system within the Team, teaches business owners that if you want the victory, you will have to engage yourself in the battle.  You will have to stick it out when you want to quit.  When you fall flat on your face and fail, you must know that as long as you get back up you are one step closer to victory.  People are so scared of failure that they either quit if they fail, or even worse, they never attempt to swing for fear of missing the target.  Orrin Woodward has taught me that the people who fail the most in life are those who have achieved the most in life.  These people understood self discipline.  They understood that if they set a goal and they said they were going to hit it, then nothing was going to stop them.  What many people lack is the understanding that anything worth achieving does not come easy.  Everything in life has a price, and the greater the dream the higher the price, however once you master the concept of ‘self mastery’ i.e. self discipline you will be one step closer to your dream.  Going back to the health club example, if Americans would fight through the first few months of pain, they would experience the great thrill of being fit and in shape.  Upon taking up running again, the pain is unbearable for the first few months; however you have to get through the first initial stages of training your body to do what you want it to do.  If you do anything long enough, your body will get used to it, and that is why today I could go out and run 10 miles and hold a conversation the entire time.  It is as easy as breathing while watching a movie on a couch.  However, if I tried to run 10 miles a few months back on my first day or even during my first few weeks back, my legs would have felt like they were going to fall off.  The goal is to start and stay consistent while on pursuit.  Within a few months, drastic changes will take place in the progression of your goals.  If you stay disciplined with the mind set that you will work through the pain as it arises, you will experience the thrill of victory.