31 Days of Motivation: Beware of Short Cuts

Bring Your Gym Bag, Your Muscles AND Your Brain

When I show someone an exercise, I believe it’s important to tell that person what we are working, why that exercise is working that muscle group, and how they can make the most of that particular exercise to get the results they want. Not only will they understand the importance of that exercise, and know how to do it correctly, they will be more motivated to do it when they understand what it will do for them.

Sure, I could easily just point to a machine and have them go through the motions. Shoot, if I did that, they’d HAVE to keep coming back to me for help. Maybe other people consider that good job security. Some trainers have the mentality of, “don’t teach them anything, or they might go off and do it themselves”.  But, if I just told people what to do, although it may change their body, it won’t change their mind.

Here’s my philosophy. People need a mind make-over. People need more than guidance, they need education. They need to make better decisions when no one is around to tell them what to do. The more a trainer empowers people with knowledge, the more lives they can change. The more success stories, the better their reputation will be – that THEY were the one that helped so many people reach their goals.

Sadly, some people just don’t want to learn. Often times people resort to short cuts or programs that tell you what to do because they don’t want to think for themselves. While joining a program that directs you is a good thing, beware of spending hours being told what to do without learning anything. Don’t be afraid to think, to try to understand, to invest time and energy in learning.

We are supposed to LEARN from our hard work. Dedication and discipline is supposed to challenge us, grow us and teach us how to persevere and overcome obstacles. Don’t look for short cuts, look for the right path – no matter how long or hard it looks. The right path is where you will learn the most, and you’ll learn how to stay on track once you get there!

Don’t look for shortcuts, sometimes the hardest routes teach us the most!

14 Quotes to Motivate You to Work Hard in ’14!

1. The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. Thomas A. Edison
2. Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. Peter Drucker
3. Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. Newt Gingrich
4. Enjoy your sweat because hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but without it you don’t have a chance. Alex Rodriguez
5. Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all. Sam Ewing
6. Talent in cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. Stephen King
7. Young people are threatened… by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire. Pope John Paul II
8. For every two minutes of glamour, there are eight hours of hard work. Jessica Savitch
9. All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work. Thomas J. Watson
10. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself. Alan Alda
11. Temporary success can be achieved in spite of lack of other fundamental qualities, but no advancements can be maintained without hard work. William Feather
12. No great achiever – even those who made it seem easy – ever succeeded without hard work. Jonathan Sacks
13. Opportunity looks a lot like hard work. Ashton Kutcher
14. A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. Colin Powell