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Why Enthusiasm Trumps Worrying When It Comes to Reaching Goals

Sunrise Jump

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only saps today of its joy.” ~Leo Buscaglia

They say the greatest joy in life is to be able to live your passion every day, and I only had to look to my teens to remember that what I had always enjoyed doing most—working out. That’s where I wanted to go in life.

Held hostage by worries about the future, status, and money, I decided to head on a different path. I did well in college, graduating with a business degree and a double major in finance and accounting.

A few years later, it was clear that something was off. So last year, I made the big decision to pursue my passion in fitness by becoming a certified personal trainer. The start of the year was full of energy and joy. I was glad that I had finally found my direction, something that I wholeheartedly wanted to do.

I was a man on a mission. By the end of August, I had accomplished my task by taking all the exams and passing the instructor competency evaluation.

Whew, I thought.

All I had to do now was wait for a letter of approval and a wallet card to make it official.

But, what was supposed to take a few weeks ended up taking more than two months. This was the kink in my momentum.

Before I ran into this speed bump, I had everything all carefully and strategically planned out. After I became an accredited personal trainer, it would be “go” time.

Then, while waiting for my accreditation to come through, I felt stuck. I couldn’t start taking clients. I just waited. And with extra time on my hands, I started to think.

This thinking was good at first; I laid out my plans and business strategically. But the more I thought about my personal training business, the more I started to worry.

My worries soon manifested into fear and doubt. I started to feel sick, both inside and out. It wasn’t long before the slow days gave way to questions. Did I give up pursuing a career in the finance industry for this? Was this all a mistake?

My worries started to bloom one after another, like desert flower after the rain, except there was no beauty in this.

On the one hand, it’s a great thing to discover what it is we love and go forth to do it, but on the other hand, I saw people trying to pursue their passions and failing all around me.

What if it was just a pipe dream? My hopes and ambition, strong at the beginning of the year, had paved the way for fear and stress. I was misdirecting all my energy to worrying, and my enthusiasm was waning away.

For the next few months, I fought a silent war with myself.

I already had all the tools and knowledge to be a great trainer. My genuine sincerity and passion toward fitness and my willingness to help others were undeniable. But worrying was getting in the way of me starting and growing my personal training practice.

When I came to this realization, I knew I had to get my motivation back to move forward.

I realized this around New Year’s, as I thought about what made the difference between the people who can get up and get healthy and the people who set resolutions and never make it.

I had let myself become a part of the latter group because of my worrying. Focusing solely on outcomes is a sure path to failure, because we see all the people who couldn’t do it, and talk ourselves out of our own ambitions.

I was practicing some routines on my girlfriend, who wanted to become more fit. As someone who is usually focused and able to achieve what she wants, she had a hard time sticking to an exercise routine. Why?

She said she wanted to be fit, but the path to get there, in her eyes, was just too hard. And then I asked her why it was so hard. She said, “Well technically, it’s not that it’s hard. I can do things if they’re hard if I want to do them. It’s just that I don’t enjoy it.”

Bingo.

Enthusiasm breeds progress. If you enjoy it, you’re that much more likely to stick with it.

I let go of the traditional routine I had planned and told her simply to start with something she already liked to do. And with the other things, we figured out how to make those things fun for her. As someone who never stuck to an exercise routine before, she is now finally doing it.

When I saw that, I was finally able to take myself out of my slump. I could see that worrying about outcomes was inhibiting my ability to move forward.

Now, it doesn’t mean that I’m unrealistic. I know it’ll take hard work and time. But I’m realistic about the fact that if we truly enjoy doing something, we are that much more likely to succeed at it. And if we worry, we suck the joy out of it and paralyze ourselves.

Here are a few things I learned:

1. Stop worrying.

Quench your ember of worries before it becomes a wildfire and causes you real harm. What is now only a thought will become more if you keep focusing on it. By thinking I was going to fail, I stopped trying. When I stop trying, I fail by default.

2. Take action.

Worrying breeds more worrying. You need to address your worries. Find the root cause and figure out what actions you need to be taking in order to move forward.

3. Keep the fire going.

When in doubt, remember the why. I had lost sight of the reason why I decided to pursue fitness: I simply loved it, and I knew that it was something that I could help people with.

When we focus on what we love to do, we worry less simply because we are in a state of joy. And when we worry less, we are free to take action.

And along the same veins, if it’s not something you already love, find some way to make it fun and enjoyable, instead of allowing the outcome to be the only motivator.

I stopped worrying about whether or not my personal training business would fail. I stopped worrying that I may have made the “wrong” career move. I stopped worrying about being the best personal trainer. 

Instead, I went to the library and read books on building a personal training business. I searched and found someone with 25 years of experience in the fitness industry to provide me with mentorship. I accepted that I was new and it was going to take some time. All these activities were fun for me; I had found my groove again.

When I focused on the natural lifelong enthusiasm I had for fitness, and fixated on that instead of the fear, I was able to detach myself from it to move forward.

Today I am one step closer than I was yesterday, and tomorrow I’ll be one step closer than today—enjoying the moments and feeling grateful that I have the opportunity to work toward my dream, instead of questioning it.

When these worries arise now—Do I have what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur? Am I good enough? Will I make a living? Can I? And most of all, did I make the wrong choice?—I remind myself that it is never wrong if it brings joy.

If we focus on that, every action we take is exponentially more powerful than one taken full of worry and fear.

Photo by ClickE

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Shaina

Wow, Thank you so much for posting this… It was just what I was needed to hear right now. I’m totally at a point of worry and over-thing and doubting myself and my path (I’m nearly done a 2.5 year massage therapy diploma). This reminded me that I need to focus on my passion and stop worrying so much. Easier said then done, but at least realizing what I’m doing is the first step.

Joan Harrison

I enjoyed reading about your journey. One point stood out for me in the beginning when your credentials were delayed. Immediately I thought “they have been delayed for a reason” – because that is how it works.

You needed the lesson that your girlfriend taught you, so that you could teach this to your clients. Well done on your achievement and good luck following all your hard work!

Catherine

Wow this rings so true for me right now. I train dogs but I’m afraid to take the leap and start classes. It seems overwhelming and yet, I know its the best way to get my name out there as I am new to the community. You’ve written what I feel and what I know I need to do but theres always that BUT…I know the fear is there, I know why, and every time I see a private client, I ask myself why I’m stubbling on the class thing. Thanks for this.

Meghan

This also couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Like you, I have spent the first few years out of college in the business world only to realize it wasn’t for me. Now, I am trying to completely change careers by going into the medical field and have spent the last few weeks feeling the emotional and even physical effects of my worry mainly about not getting accepted into school. I try to keep focused on why I am doing have decided to make this change and how helping people and medicine are the source of happiness for me, but I often find myself lapsing into an overwhelming amount of stress and worry. Are there any helpful tips out there to help break away from anxiousness/worry of things you cannot ultimately control or the fear of failure?

Healthy Sexy Soul

When we worry our negative thoughts carry us off and we become unstable as if we are floating day by day. When we focus our energy we become grounded and present; it is this that carries us forward. I am happy to hear that you realize the first step is to refocus your energy and I wish you a smooth journey ahead.

Healthy Sexy Soul

There is a lesson in everything 🙂 When we open ourselves to the world we are able to learn from it. Thank you very much.

Healthy Sexy Soul

This is one of my favorite quotes and I keep it close to heart:

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If
you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out
and get busy.” -Dale Carnegie

Healthy Sexy Soul

For me I practice awareness. Our thoughts are like links, once we start, we cannot stop, unless we actively become aware of it. When I feel my thoughts drifting me away, I take three 3 deep breaths to bring me back to the present.

Putting thought or trying to will something that is ultimately out of your control will get you nowhere. You already know this and no amount of thinking can change it. Learn to enjoy the moment and put your energy to better use.

Whether you get into med school or not, trust that life has a purpose for you and you will never fail. I hope this helps.

Tanya

Great article. I worry a lot, sometimes to the point where I become anxious, but I’ve come to realize that the more I worry, the less that gets done, and just worstens my problems. It’s definitely best to take it easy and work at the problem in a managable way.

dee

Richard, thank YOU so much for this post. You shared great insight and I loved it and really needed to hear and resonate with your message right now 🙂

kayleb

great article

Monica

I had a friend who started a business twice and only when she enlisted the proper support the second time did she excel. I love the action step you took. We don’t have to be solo warriors. And remembering the why and the joy is great too! Remembering that despite the butterflies and excitement, there’s no place you’d rather be. Thank you and kudos Richard!

Joanna Warwick

Nice post Richard. This made me smile as I was only talking about this with a Friend this week regarding running. I love exercise if its something that I enjoy I can’t be bothered to go to the gym but I love being active. I have been running now 6x a week for 6 months having never done it before because I run with my dog , I run along the beach and the coastal path and I also walk when I get to a point when my enthusiasm lacks and start up again when I feel ready , instead of beating myself up for not doing it to the max I actually achieve more. I am learning to do this in my writing too. I have learnt that if I try to push through when my enthusiasm wanes I feel resentment . If I instead rest or reach out and connect with others I worry less and get fired up and inspired again 😉