I have two clients who just started a 30 day challenge with some friends to see who could lose the most body fat while adding the most muscle. You will hear more about this challenge in the next few weeks because we will be creating a documentary about it in hopes to inspire others. I really want people to see what is possible in such a short period of time.
As expected all of the participants have flipped a switch in the first week. It is as if the temptations they once had have disappeared. They are now full of infinite discipline and will power. Or are they? How long will this last?
In hopes to help convey a message this morning I want to use the illustration of marriage. Many people will call the period of time immediately after the wedding the “honeymoon phase”.
What this means is that a newly married couple has a season of time immediately following the wedding where things seem easy. There are little to no disagreements and very little conflict. Some research shows that this can go on from six months to two years following the wedding.
Well, I don’t know exactly what you’re situation is like but I can tell you that marriage is not easy and that this short season immediately following the wedding will not last.
Let me be clear, I love my wife and I love our marriage but it has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done. We will celebrate 13 years of marriage next month. There is no one on the planet who I would rather spend my days with. Our story has been one of growth and thanks to a common foundation in Christ we have the relationship we have today. Marriage has been an eye opening experience for me. I have been humbled and continue to be reminded of my selfishness. Thankfully I married a woman who gives me grace and unconditional love as I do her. That is how it works.
Now lets bring it back to the 30 day challenge. These participants are in the “honeymoon” phase of the challenge. In my opinion with a 30 day challenge I would bet that the entire 30 days will be fairly simple. Not for everyone but for most. 30 days just isn’t that long in my opinion and they placed a bet which makes it easier to stay committed. But what happens after the challenge? What happens after the honeymoon phase is over?
The common theme in success in marriage and weight loss is having a firm foundation.
This is not a message on marriage so I won’t go into that but as far as weight loss goes in order to have long term success you need a purpose that drives you to keep going. The purpose has to be so strong that it turns into a conviction. The conviction becomes your accountability.
What is a conviction?
You have experienced this in other areas of life so let me give you a few examples.
If you have children you likely love them to a conviction. In other words no matter what they do you will love them no matter what. I’m sure they test that on occasion 🙂
If you have a job you have a conviction to do a good job and show up to work. As soon as that conviction goes away your productivity goes down and you lose interest. This leads to poor performance and you either quit or get fired.
Business owners are great examples of being driven by a purpose. Usually the purpose is something they believe in to a conviction. This is powerful because it helps them through the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur.
These are three different examples but they show you how important a purpose is. So when you set out to lose weight you need to dig deep inside and find out why the heck are you doing this? In my experience weight loss and looking good in a bathing suit is not powerful enough of a purpose to make it a true lifestyle transformation.
You see, flipping the switch is easy. Anyone can eat healthy for a day, three days or a week. What I’m talking about is permanent change. Long term success. This is the ingredient that makes for a healthy life.
I read this weekend that 64% of people abandon their New Years goals before the end of January. This proves my point. They flipped a switch and sadly they did not have a firm foundation to fall back on. Much like a marriage is faced with challenges as soon as the honeymoon season is over.
What is your purpose? Does it convict you? I would love to know.
My hope is that this message inspires you to keep going. One of the greatest principles of success is to persist and if you persist long enough you will win.
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