Good things come to those who wait?

Really?  I have spent many years using this adage.  You know that something better is just around the corner, if you can just hold on that long.  Start a diet and eventually it will show on the scale. Someday when you start walking 5 days a week, eventually you will be fit.  Wait for Mr. Right, he’s out there.

Waiting isn’t what works.  You must live.  You must go out and make healthy and happy choices.  You must grab life by the mane and ride.  If you don’t you will miss everything, and settle for mediocre.  Is that really worth waiting for?

This weekend I was working with my 17 year old nephew.  He was doing a project where one of the questions was an attainable goal for the next year.  He is a wrestler, and his original goal was to make it to the state championships.  He has missed a year of wrestling for a multitude of reasons, and believes he missed his shot going into his senior year.  When I asked why making the state championships wasn’t on his goal list he told me it was too late.  What the heck are we teaching our children?  What are we teaching ourselves?  Go ahead and give up on your dream because it’s too hard to achieve?  REALLY????

This made me think.  How many goals and dreams have I put aside in my life because it was too late or too hard?  Is there any dream that is really out of reach?  So maybe at 50, and never having been in politics, it might be too late for me to become President of the United States (though in all honesty, this is not something I ever dreamed about being.) If I really wanted it, it’s not too late to investigate.

My point is, we have to try.  We have to stop being afraid of failing, stop giving up so easily, stop telling ourselves excuses.  Good things come to people who are willing to take a risk, and push through hard moments to make something real.  It does not matter if this goal is losing weight, becoming a marathoner, or President.  You must make the first step, and you can’t give up.

On September 19, 2014 I began Ideal Protein.  I have reached my goal because I put in the work and never gave up on myself.  It’s been a year in maintenance, and while I will have to watch my intake forever, I am at goal.  I am 50 years old, and for the first time in my life, I am healthy and happy.

Good things don’t come to those who wait.  They come to those who try.