Thursday, December 28, 1995

The power of consistent effort

This is the time of year when most people begin to think about New Year’s resolutions. The weight loss industry is gearing up for the annual January advertising blitz -- you’ll soon be seeing ads for fitness centers and weight loss products everywhere you look. You’d think that with all these marvelous products and workout facilities available to people, that no one would be overweight. With the billions of dollars spent every year on weight loss, why are so many people still carrying around that excess fat?

The answer is that most of them lack consistency in their weight loss efforts. They have the best of intentions. Come January 2nd, they join the fitness club, they buy the diet shakes, they commit to the program and get all motivated. But usually, before mid-February, most people have fallen off the wagon and back into the same old routine that got them overweight in the first place. The fitness centers know this -- that’s why they can oversell their memberships. They know that the majority of people will use the facilities for a few weeks and then quit coming on a regular basis.

The reason so many people fail, at weight loss and at other endeavors, is lack of consistent effort. And conversely, if you look at the enduringly successful people in the world, most of them have a couple of things in common -- desire and consistent effort.

Effort, by very definition, is not easy. It’s relatively easy to get all fired up on New Year’s Day, or to get motivated by a new business opportunity. But after a few days, the initial excitement wears off and you’re left with the need for effort. That’s where most people drop out. The excitement is easy, the effort is not.

However, it is the effort, applied consistently over the long haul, that makes the difference.

— Ralph Marston

Value is everywhere       Either way you pay

Copyright ©1995 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.