A WORK IN PROGRESS

We have all been a bit more preoccupied with the idea of progress these past few weeks…yes it was game on with our New Year Challenge and for six weeks more than 100 of our members have been really, really busy – desperately trying to make progress with their workout sessions, their body stats and their eating habits during our fitness challenge, while simultaneously battling to make ends meet with the usual demands of daily chores, motherhood, work stress and of course, facing the challenges of the more than hectic first 3 months of 2019.

Progress…We all want to make progress – in our spiritual lives, our personal lives, on the scale, at work, with our financial affairs and in our relationships.  In her book “The way life should be”, Christina Baker Kline states: “Fairy tales end happily ever after because children crave resolution – they need to know how things turn out.  But I am comfortable living with more questions than answers.  My own story will always be a work in progress…”

On Wednesday evening we had our Challenge prize giving ceremony – we celebrated the end of the successful 6-week-journey at the studio, we honoured all the top achievers and REALLY let our hair down with a fun-filled Hippie-themed evening.  Although one cannot expect major results regarding body stats and appearance in six weeks, there was enough proof that PROGRESS IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE.

More than 26 members made huge progress from their first to second body assessments on our InBody scale, and 78 participants reached the desired minimum target of 22 workout sessions.  26 participants completed more than 30 sessions, and 3 members managed to lose more than 3 kgs in 4 weeks.  (I won’t bore you with all the Challenge results, you’ll find that on our website in the March newsletter).  One would think that everyone would be sick and tired of signing in for class, keeping appointments, rising early and making sacrifices, but no! I’ve already been asked several times about the starting date of our Winter Challenge.

Why?  Because as human beings, we’re hardwired to want to reach the finish line.  We crave completion and conquering a fitness challenge is a way to measure, track, and feel good about the progress we make every single day. I think the fact that so many women in our studio have been part of every fitness challenge since 2014, has helped them to make peace with one important factor when it comes to goals, and that is that we are all a never-ending work in progress…

Over the last few years I have worked closely with hundreds of women, confidentially shared their personal dreams and fears, and I have seen one thing – the letter P in progress doesn’t stand for perfection… It shouldn’t stand for perfection.  At the start of every challenge we set realistic goals – we make sure that we don’t chase goals in a time frame that’s unrealistic and impossible – Reasonable progress in measurable time, that`s the key… 

At every prize giving ceremony I encourage every participant to look at what they have accomplished.  Recognising everyone’s progress breeds confidence and often becomes the push someone needs to keep trying.   But I have also experienced how all attendees at our award ceremonies applaud each other’s successes, time after time, proving that they realise that this is not really a competition, but a contest against oneself.

As much as it’s the aim of our Challenge award ceremony to make EVERYONE feel accomplished, I know that there are always a few girls who go home feeling that they hadn’t done enough.  It’s normal to compare yourself to others – but I want to urge you today, that when you’re having one of those days (or weeks…), try to remind yourself to focus on making progress, not the outcome.  You need your own time to cover your own distance.  Try to remind yourself that what’s most important is that you’re continuing to try and doing your best.

Being willing to put ourselves out there are accomplishments within themselves – whether it is training for a 21 km-race, striving to lower your visceral fat or walking to earn a badge on your Fitbit for 70 000 steps a week.  Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back for trying, making progress, and coming as far as you have.  Push yourself to think of the P in Progress as passion, purpose, patience and perseverance – not pressure.

We can’t feel totally satisfied with where we’re going until we can accept, acknowledge, and appreciate where we are. Make peace with where you are, and your journey toward something new will feel much more peaceful, rewarding, and satisfying. Take a moment to realize how far you’ve come instead of how far you still have left to go.

Progress implies all the little victories that happen between our 7am coffee and the late-night episode of “Die ware naarheid”.  Progress is not giving up on step class until you master it.  Progress is completing a long day`s work with a positive attitude when you felt like giving up.  Progress is putting on your pink top and joining the Pound class even when you have a pounding headache.  Progress is pitching for your body assessment even when you know you’ve had a bad week.  Progress is deciding what you’re going to do in the next hour, not tomorrow, or today.

In his article “Life as a work in progress”, famous blogger Charlie Scaturro provides us with this beautiful food for thought:

“There will never be a time in this life where everything makes complete sense.

There will never be a time in this life where we won`t struggle at least a little bit.

There will never be a time in this life where we are done working on ourselves”.

There will always be things that we can get better at.  There will always be mistakes that we want to correct.  We are not cars or pieces of furniture.  There is no finished state to a human being.  Yes, we are HUMAN. And therefore, we are work in progress. Allow yourself to be proud of yourself and all the progress you’ve made. Especially the progress that no one else can see…

I guess deciding where you want to go is the first step in making progress, and of course, how bad you want it.  As Steve Maraboli writes in his book “Life, the truth, and being free: “When you do what you love, the seemingly impossible becomes simply challenging, the laborious becomes purposeful resistance, the difficult loses its edge and is trampled by your progress.”

Yours in fitness

Mirna

082 779 0507