It Will Get Better

Today’s email has nothing – and EVERYTHING – to do with fitness…but I hope it will give you the strength to carry on through any obstacles you face in life or your transformation.

I really want you to succeed, but I also know that you need more than just great workouts and expert nutrition advice.

You need support from friends (like Bally – he *wags* his  tail for you!) and accountability to a trainer that is willing to deliver some tough love when you’re slacking and thinking about quitting (that’s mean ol’ Craiggy’s job).

So that’s what you get today. Support and tough love.

But first, a story…

Back in September of 2011 I sent you a bittersweet personal note. My mother had just decided to sell the family farm  after my old man passed away in 2008 (he was a wild, wily character, you would have loved him while simultaneously being very, very embarrassed for me – he was like a drunk Michael Scott, from “The Office“).

Anyways…

Fast forward to this past weekend and mom (aka Bally the Dog’s grandma and favorite person in the entire world – yes, he adores her even more than he does his master) just moved into a brand new ranch-style home.

She had it custom-built on a corner of  the old homestead (she kept a little plot of land for herself in the sale).

Now if you’ve ever done renovations or moved into a new home,  you know all too well about the delays that come with it.

Originally, my mom expected to move in last July. Then it was moved to October. And “finally”, December.

Well,” she sighed with exasperation, “at least we’ll be able to have the big family Christmas there“.

Of course, as soon as she sent out the invitation to all her brothers, nieces, and nephews, she found out that she wouldn’t be able to move in until January.

Now my mother has the patience of a saint. She had to dealing with my father and with me in my teenage years, but even this delay was pushing her limits.

And so she missed out on Christmas at the new house. Heck, we didn’t even have a tree this year at the old farmhouse.

(Instead, we just put a flashing dog collar on Bally and labeled him the Christmas tree. Although he’s gosh-awful hard to get presents under.)

That brings us to this weekend. All of the trials and tribulations are now gone and forgotten. The stress, headaches, and inconveniences of delays and mismanaged expectations are no more.

Instead, we are basking in the glory of the new home.

It’s wonderful. Really, really fantastic – a sanctuary I look forward to returning to every month after another Turbulence Training road trip across the country or around the world.

And ol’ Bally the Dog? He’ll never want to leave. It was hard enough to drag him away from the old farmhouse and back to the confines of my Toronto apartment.

But now, with his three beds strategically spread out in various corners of the new home, I don’t think I’ll be able to trick him into the car…not even with some cookie treats. (Wait, those will work. They always do.)

Now you might be thinking…what in the HECK does this have to do with me and my workouts, diet struggles, and my Transformation Contest goals?

Well, nothing, on one hand, and EVERYTHING, on the other.

You see, we all go through dark days and dips in our lives.

My mother, like your mother too, I’m sure, made enormous sacrifices for many, many years.

She practically raised me and my sister single handedly, on her just-above-the-poverty line receptionist salary.

She graciously dealt with my father’s drinking and the embarrassment that his behavior and reputation no doubt caused her – when she’d attend social events alone, or worse, when he’d be there too.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my old man, and we all did. We loved the good and loving man that he could be on good days, but he got beat by his inner demons that were stronger than him, and it made life awful tough on her.

But she never gave up. She held fast to her faith and vision. Unlike her son, she never wrote down the rules of her life on paper, but they were – and are – engraved in her heart and that has made all of the difference.

Every morning, no matter how exasperated she was with my father, she got up, made sure we had everything we needed for school, went off to work, came home and made dinner, patched up my clothes, drove me to hockey practice, helped me and my sister with our multiplication tables, and made sure I brushed my teeth before bed.

She sacrificed. Sacrificed. And sacrificed.

And all of her hard work is now being rewarded, Now she has her well-earned little piece of paradise.

She deserves it.

Just like YOU are deserving of your Transformation.

Just like you will sacrifice, sacrifice, and when it seems like you just can’t go on, you’ll sacrifice some more.

There will be days when you wake up, roll out of bed, and  think, “Oh no, not again. Not another day of banging my head against the wall all in the name of trying to make progress  in life.”

And you’ll get out of bed, go to work, and then suddenly, one day, it will all change. For the better.

WHOOOSH.

Success.

Listen, progress comes in spurts, and while things might seem a little dry now, TRUST me, it will come.

So stay strong if you had a hard day, a tough week, or a
frustrating month.

It WILL get better. That’s my promise to you.

And if you are going through any dips right now, personal or professional, physical or financial, then just remember these little words of wisdom to get you through the day:

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill

There’s a lesson to be learned in even the worst circumstances. And the best thing we can do is take those lessons and set  about on a new course of action that will get us closer to our goals and the success we deserve.

Because you see, as it did for my mother, having faith in your vision counts. Having rules in your head and your heart matters. The right attitude goes a long way. It will see you through to the goals you have made.

I couldn’t say it any better than this:

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.”  – William James

For my mom, she held to her faith that things would work out alright in the end. Her overriding priority in life was to make sure that my sister and I were taken care of and  supported as we worked towards our own version of success.

And yes, my mom did get a little worried about me for a while when I was away at University, studying for some degree that she was afraid would turn out to be useless.

But her patience with and trust in me paid off.

Today she’s happily retired, busier and happier and more social than ever. And with the world’s BDFF, too (best doggy friend forever).

Things couldn’t be better…but again, she had to overcome a lot of obstacles along the way.

It’s been the same way for me, too.

I’ve been failing my way to success for years. And you can fail – and succeed, too – if you try. Or you can quit, and not taste failure or success at all.

But as I like to say, the success is in the failure. And it’s better to be willing to “get punched in the face now in order to wear the Championship belt later”.

I hope you’re with me.

Stay strong my friend.

All of your hard work will pay off soon,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer

PS – So there’s not too much left of the farm now.

But if you’ve been a TT reader for a while, then you probably remember the article I wrote about the day they knocked down the barn and silo out here.

If not, you can read that article about “getting out of your comfort zone” and you can see photos of the demolition here.

I wasn’t around the day of that demo, but those pictures sure tell an interesting story, don’t they?

Let me know your thoughts about overcoming obstacles and what goals you have planned for the future in the comments section of this article.

Talk to you soon.

Back to XTREME training and nutrition tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.