Of Parallels and Perseverance

Perseverance. This is among one of the many life lessons that bodybuilding is teaching me. I think about the perseverance, the level of persistence one needs to maintain to reach their goals in bodybuilding. And I realize that is it not unlike the grit one must endure to succeed in any area of life. For example, take a person working a retail job. They work long, stubbornly long hours and grin at the insufferable attitude of the customers. They work diligently because they must, if they want the flow of pay to be steady. After all, bare necessities must be seen to. But, is retail their ultimate destiny? Is mediocrity the final marker of the true extent of a person? Of course not. Like bodybuilding, one will remain in the shadow of mediocrity until they strive to bask in the light. The light I speak of is one that bathes the champions - those who have chosen the path no one dared to take; those who, in darkness and doubt, treaded on to meet every landmark towards their goals. There was no certainty save the certainty in their minds that they were going to work hard, move forward, and achieve great things (little by little) even if those paths were seldom traveled and often feared. In regards to the retail worker, he could continue to meet the minimum requirements that make him eligible for that little paycheck month to month. Or, he could pursue a career much more important, and meaningful, but intimidating. One that he may be passionate in, and may even do well it, but the journey undertaken would be difficult to tread. I am learning that many principles of success in bodybuilding are not just that. Parallels are plenty. Medicocrity and complacency may become unsettling to you (either you feel you could improve physically, or you feel that you could be more than your job). Hard work yields considerable results. Patience negates frustration, and eventual quitting. Setting small goals builds a sustainable ladder that lead to the desired 'big picture' - one step at a time - keeping the big picture from looking too daunting or impossible to accomplish. Gains resulted from hard work, patience, and perseverance, are an astronomical boost to one's confidence, and further fuel for one's drive for improvement and success. I have known all along, yet am only beginning to realize the complete gravity of these truths in their entireties. I have a long, rocky road ahead, full of doubt and shadow and peril, but I must keep believing I will reach the end.