Why Some People Never Quit And Some People Never Give Up
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Why Some People Never Quit And Some People Never Give Up
Why Some People Never Quit And Some People Never Give Up By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS |
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Burn The Fat And Feed The Muscle Book
Throughout my 18 years in the fitness industry as a
trainer, nutrition consultant and motivational coach, I
have noticed that some people who start a nutrition and
exercise program give up very easily after hitting the
first obstacle they encounter. If they feel the
slightest bit of discouragement or frustration, they
will abandon even their biggest goals and dreams.
On the other hand, I noticed that some people simply
NEVER give up. They have ferocious persistence and they
never let go of their goals. These people are like the
bulldog that refuses to release its teeth-hold on a
bone. The harder you try to pull the bone out of his
mouth, the harder the dog chomps down with a vice-like
grip.
What's the difference between these two types of people?
Psychologists say there is an answer.
An extremely important guideline for achieving fitness
success is the concept that, "There is no failure; only
feedback. You don't "fail", you only get results."
This is a foundational principle from the field of Neuro
Linguistic Programming (NLP), and the first time I ever
heard it was from peak performance expert Anthony
Robbins back in the late 1980's. It's a principle that
stuck with me ever since, because it's a very, very
powerful shift in mindset.
A lot of people will second-guess themselves and they'll
bail out and quit, just because what they try at first
doesn't work. They consider it a permanent failure, but
all they need is a little attitude change, a mindset
change, or what we call a "reframe."
Instead of saying, "This is failure" they can say to
themselves, "I produced a result" and "This is only
temporary." This change in perspective is going to
change the way that they feel and how they mentally
process and explain the experience. It turns into a
learning opportunity and valuable feedback for a course
correction instead of a failure, and that drives
continued action and forward movement.
It's all about your results and your interpretation of
those results
Dr Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the
University of Pennsylvania, did some incredible research
on this subject and wrote about it in his book, Learned
Optimism. Dr. Seligman noticed that the difference
between people who give up and people who persist and
never quit is what he referred to as "explanatory
style." He said that explanatory style is the way we
explain or interpret bad events or failures.
People who habitually give up have an explanatory style
of permanence. For example, they hit a plateau in their
progress and explain it by saying, "diets never work" or
"I have bad genetics so I'll always be fat." These
explanations imply permanence.
Other people hit the same plateaus and encounter the
same challenges, but explain them differently. They say
things such as, "I ate too many cheat meals this week,"
or "I haven't found the right diet for my body type
yet." These explanations of the results imply being
temporary.
People who see negative results as permanent failure are
the ones who give up easily and often generalize their
"failure" into other areas of their lives and even into
their own sense of self. It's one thing to say, "I ate
poorly this past week because I was traveling," (a
belief about temporary behavior and environment), and to
say, "I am a fat person because of my genetics" (a
belief about identity with a sense of permanence).
Remember, body fat is a temporary condition, not a
person!
People who see challenges and obstacles as temporary and
as valuable learning experiences are the ones who never
quit. If you learn from your experiences, not repeating
what didn't work in the past, and if you choose to never
quit, your success is inevitable.
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Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.
