So for those of you who know me, you probably know that I’m a big fan of Chalene Johnson both in her work as a fitness instructor and an entrepreneur. The other day, I was perusing her podcasts on SoundCloud when I came across this great discussion on how to be truly successful on a fitness journey (and really anything challenging requiring significant change).

What do you think the #1 characteristic is of those who succeed in losing weight, changing their bodies, building a successful business, completing an advanced degree, etc.?

According to Chalene, it’s PERSISTENCE. Yes, that’s right, persistence — not motivation, money, connections, circumstances, a magic pill, a genie (although I bet a genie could help quite a bit here) but a person’s consistency and sheer determination to show up every day to take small, measurable steps toward achieving their goals.

When I talk to people about their health goals, I often get answers like “I want to look great for my wedding/vacation/party/event” and while there’s nothing wrong with them, they do raise a few questions. How do you get there and what happens after you reach that goal?

Chalene discusses this in her podcast (posted below). When she works with clients, she would often have people that would share goals just like those above — event driven appearance goals — and she had no problem helping them reach them of course providing they are willing to work hard for it. Her favorite people, though, and those that have the most short and long term success are the people “who have a goal to change who they are.” They’re not focused on their before and after but before and current — an idea that no matter how much they achieve, they’re always a work in progress; they’re always students, perpetually seeking new ways to grow and improve.

SPOILER ALERT! If you don’t want the tale rife with suspenseful twists and turns, cliffhangers, and nail-biting excitement ruined, don’t read on, instead, scroll down and listen to Chalene’s story from Chalene herself!

Anyway, Chalene continues on to share a very interesting analogy to running on a trail near her home, likening its diverse and challenging paths to one’s health journey. I won’t retell her story, you can click below to listen to it (it’s really short and definitely more fun to listen to than read, I mean, let’s be honest!), but the main philosophy she is driving at is to not go at full blast all the time. She stresses that we should set small, measurable goals that we can clearly see when we achieve allowing us to maintain a pace that is simultaneously “comfortably uncomfortable” and doable.

If we follow her approach, we won’t achieve 30, 60, or 90 day “after” but step into a lifestyle of lasting growth and achievement — one that lets us first look in the mirror and say “this is who I wanted to be — not for a vacation or wedding but this is who I wanted to be my entire life” after which we just keep on growing and improving.

Chalene finishes the short podcast with a wonderfully simple concept that I think, on some level, we all know but, in this go-go-go, shoot for the moon romanticism that pervades our culture, we could all use a little reminder:

The human spirit wants to improve but we also don’t want to be failures. So we must be kind to ourselves, set small and reasonable goals that are small enough to measure and achieve what you set out to do for that day.

My Challenge Groups are built around this approach to long-lasting results — a healthy lifestyle versus a crash diet. We focus on simple daily disciplines that compound into long-term success through not only comprehensive fitness and nutrition programs and supplementation but also daily tips, support, accountability, and rewards that celebrate your achievements throughout your journey. Click here for more information and to reserve your spot in an upcoming Challenge Group.

If you’ve enjoyed this post and want to hear more from Chalene Johnson, check out more of her GREAT podcasts on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chalenejohnson

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