A gym is a place of progress. In my own gym, I have honed in on my self-discipline, created a habitual progress of showing up and built a body that I am proud of. Fitness and regular exercise have been proven countless times to be beneficial for your well-being. Fitness can also teach you valuable lessons.
Here are five things the gym has taught me since I started my fitness journey.
- don’t be afraid to fail
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How will you know if you can lift that heavy weight if you’re too afraid to pick it up? How will you know if you can achieve something if you’re too scared to try? The fear of failure will keep you stuck in place and hinder progress. Welcome failure, and watch how you grow.
- Discipline will go further than motivation
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Motivation is a fleeting thing, and quite frankly, overrated. You’re not going to be motivated every single day to get up and chase your goals. Motivation is the reason—it is what will give you that start on the path to your goals. When that starts to fade, self-discipline will keep you going. The days when you don’t want to work out, the days when you have to push yourself to not be lazy—those sessions are what will separate you from the rest.
- It’s okay to be confident
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There’s a stigma that gym rats, bodybuilders, etc. are cocky because they post pictures of their bodies all the time. It’s not cocky to be proud of something that you made from scratch. A body built in the gym is a testament to someone’s hard work and dedication. It’s okay to be confident in your looks.
- trust the process
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Progress is not always going to be linear. Sometimes you may see results fast, and hit a plateau, but you have to remember that the process is what will get us to our goals. Focus on the journey, not the destination, and remember that hard work pays off.
- good habits are the key to being successful
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Once you start developing the habit of exercising, you’ll want to start eating right. Then you’ll want to start getting a better sleep schedule. Once you’ve decided that you’ve got your body in check, you’ll want to develop your mind with other good habits. Fitness is not only used to look good, or even feel good, but it becomes a lifestyle. Fitness is a habit that is necessary to your routine, that brings other good habits with it,