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Why
Some People Quit And Some People NEVER Give Up
By Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Throughout
my 18 years in the fitness industry as a trainer, nutrition consultant
and motivational coach, I have noticed that some people who start a
nutrition and exercise program give up very easily after hitting the
first obstacle they encounter. If they feel the slightest bit of discouragement
or frustration, they will abandon even their biggest goals and dreams.
On
the other hand, I noticed that some people simply NEVER give up. They
have ferocious persistence and they never let go of their goals. These
people are like the bulldog that refuses to release its teeth-hold on
a bone. The harder you try to pull the bone out of his mouth, the harder
the dog chomps down with a vice-like grip.
What's
the difference between these two types of people? Psychologists say
there is an answer.
An
extremely important guideline for achieving fitness success is the concept
that, "There is no failure; only feedback. You don't "fail",
you only get results."
This
is a foundational principle from the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming
(NLP), and the first time I ever heard it was from peak performance
expert Anthony Robbins back in the late 1980's. It's a principle that
stuck with me ever since, because it's a very, very powerful shift in
mindset.
A lot
of people will second-guess themselves and they'll bail out and quit,
just because what they try at first doesn't work. They consider it a
permanent failure, but all they need is a little attitude change, a
mindset change, or what we call a "reframe."
Instead
of saying, "This is failure" they can say to themselves, "I
produced a result" and "This is only temporary." This
change in perspective is going to change the way that they feel and
how they mentally process and explain the experience. It turns into
a learning opportunity and valuable feedback for a course correction
instead of a failure, and that drives continued action and forward movement.
It's
all about your results and your interpretation of those results
Dr
Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania,
did some incredible research on this subject and wrote about it in his
book, Learned Optimism. Dr. Seligman noticed that the difference between
people who give up and people who persist and never quit is what he
referred to as "explanatory style." He said that explanatory
style is the way we explain or interpret bad events or failures.
People
who habitually give up have an explanatory style of permanence. For
example, they hit a plateau in their progress and explain it by saying,
"diets never work" or "I have bad genetics so I'll always
be fat." These explanations imply permanence.
Other
people hit the same plateaus and encounter the same challenges, but
explain them differently. They say things such as, "I ate too many
cheat meals this week," or "I haven't found the right diet
for my body type yet." These explanations of the results imply
being temporary.
People
who see negative results as permanent failure are the ones who give
up easily and often generalize their "failure" into other
areas of their lives and even into their own sense of self. It's one
thing to say, "I ate poorly this past week because I was traveling,"
(a belief about temporary behavior and environment), and to say, "I
am a fat person because of my genetics" (a belief about identity
with a sense of permanence). Remember, body fat is a temporary condition,
not a person!
People
who see challenges and obstacles as temporary and as valuable learning
experiences are the ones who never quit. If you learn from your experiences,
not repeating what didn't work in the past, and if you choose to never
quit, your success is inevitable.
About
the Author:
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Tom Venuto
is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal
trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist
(CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn
the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written hundreds of
articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN,
Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development,
Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds
of websites worldwide. For information on Tom's Fat Loss program,
click
here.
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Articles By Tom Venuto
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