“Kennyisms” Fitness and Health: Focus on Discipline, Not Your Goal

I’m a natural disciplinarian, therefore to me, discipline is the key to success in almost anything life dishes out. My mother and father were both disciplinarians, so butt whippings were regular events at my house when I was a child. Growing up to be a U.S. Marine only added to the foundation that was already laid.

It’s only natural that when it comes to reaching fitness goals, my advice is to focus on the discipline it takes to reach a certain goal, rather than the goal itself. Depending on how big and ambitious they are, goals can be overwhelming.

Let’s say your goal is to lose 25 pounds of fat, build muscle, run a marathon, or compete in bodybuilding. Rather than focusing on your goal, focus on what you can do today to work towards your goal–like getting to the gym, eating clean foods today, going for a run, or saying “no” to that treat.

I trained a girl named Ciera Pekarcik (now Ciera McCausland) for the Miss Utah pageant. The goal was to lose fat for the Miss America pageant. I had to reprogram her to eat more and more often, and not worry about how the body initially reacts, but focus on the discipline. The desired results were achieved. She had been taught to eat less to lose weight. I taught her to eat more and exercise to gain muscle and lose fat. Ultimately, she made it to the 2013 Miss America pageant.

I’ve seen so many people begin a fat loss program with such big goals, only to give up within a few weeks because they were overwhelmed and didn’t see immediate results. Any worthy goal requires patience. That’s just the truth. You must be patient and just do the daily things that will guide you towards your goal. The other key element is faith. Faith in the process, faith that as you progress one day at a time towards your goal you’ll get there. Don’t base your progress on muscle soreness fatigue or even on a number on a scale; just know that you gave it your best effort today.

If your journey is disciplined, you’ll eventually reach your desired destination.

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