Winning is Habit

Vince Lombardi said, "Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all-time thing.

You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." He also said, "Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit." Why do I say that the most powerful weapon most overlooked in fighting both failure and success with health and fitness is habit? Because most people have failed to make fitness a habit, and in so doing have developed the habit of quitting.

Doing something repetitively until it becomes a habit is typically not a lot of fun but usually very rewarding. The forming of a habit always begins in the mind. As children many of the habits we formed started not in our own mind but in the minds of our parents. Many habits were imposed on us, and sometimes against our will. If it was a simple task, like brushing your teeth, it stuck. However, if it was a more ominous task, like learning to play the piano, maybe not.

Funny I should bring up the piano. My mom was an expert pianist. Her dream was that all five of her children would learn to play. Though all five children took lessons it only worked with one, my little sister. One of my greatest regrets in life is that I didn't stick with it. But at the time I really couldn't see the relevance. As a child I didn't appreciate that later in life I might regret not doing certain things that I didn't necessarily want to do. It was a "have to" rather than "I choose to".

William James, a philosopher and psychologist (1842-1910) said, "Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." To truly become good at something, one must make a conscious decision and then act out that new behavior repeatedly. It usually starts with motivation, then becomes action. "Motivation", said Jim Ryun, "is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." And habit is what ultimately leads you to achieving your goal. I know of no great accomplishment achieved void of habit.

This is why I chose to give the basic fit10 fitness program away using the Get Fit for Life 30-Day Challenge®. After 30+ years of working with people struggling to make exercise a permanent part of their life, I knew that unless it becomes a habit, similar to brushing their teeth, they would repeatedly fail.