Tell me about the best day you’ve had at work. Was it a pretty easy day or were you challenged? Did you solve some sort of crisis or was it a pretty mundane type of day?
Unless you hate your job and prefer days that all blend together, I’d be willing to bet that it was a day in which you accomplished something or solved some sort of problem. I would also be willing to bet that you were not the only person involved on completing this project.
Now, think about the best day of your life.
Many people might think of the day they met their significant other or got married—or if you have children, the day they were born.
Again, I’d be willing to bet it involved some challenge that was overcome. If you are thinking of your kids, I’m sure they are the light of your life, but raising them has probably presented a number of challenges—not to mention the challenge of bringing them into the world (shout out to all the moms out there)!
If your best day has something to do with your partner, and if your love life was anything like mine, then I’m sure you went through many trials and tribulations to meet this person and move the relationship forward. All of those challenges probably made you stronger.
My point is that it is overcoming the problems and challenges we encounter that make us into something great. How boring would life be if we were just handed everything on a silver platter?
Imagine the type of person you would be if you never had to struggle with anything in your entire life. Most of the life experience we acquire comes from a time when we made a mistake or were faced with a challenging situation and had to work our way through it. These struggles let us know what we are capable of; they shine a light our true potential. And these problems become easier for us the more experience we have dealing with them. Thomas Edison tried over 10,000 times to invent the lightbulb and when asked about it he didn’t describe them as failures, he said that he had discovered 10,000 ways that wouldn’t work.
As a trainer, I’ve seen many people give up after one week or a month. I have also seen people struggle for three or six months and then finally have a breakthrough and reach a goal with lightning speed! We all have our own path, our own pace. The only way you truly lose is if you quit. There will always be another race, another tournament, another relationship, another interview, another opportunity as long as you keep working and searching for ways to make it work.
Quitting is finite. If you quit, the odds of you starting again are pretty slim. But if you can overcome the obstacles in front of you and keep pushing forward, you will certainly come out a champ.
Don’t ask for it to get easier, accept the challenge and take it on one step at a time!
Read next: 3 Things You Can Do Today to Get Better Results from Your Workout