Never give up- My story

[N.ser]

Pardon the long post, but I have been on these forums for a while now and haven't really posted much; however, today I feel like trying to help some folks who might be struggling to reach their goals not only in bodybuilding or lifting, but in life.

I want to share a bit of my story and hopefully some individuals can relate and gain from it.
If you don't want to hear the story just skip to the numbered list below.

*I am by no means an expert but I would like to think that my points are valid and that people can agree on them

For years I was the slow, chubby kid who dreaded running and going to practice for whatever sport I was currently in. I didn't look forward to running and exerting myself; mostly because I knew I wasn't as good as the other kids. It was no big deal for me to give up, seeing as how I rarely pushed myself physically and was pretty lazy. So needless to say, over the years I became skinny fat and was really unhappy with the way I looked. This continued throughout high school. I am now a freshman in college.
I guess you could say I've had a bit of an epiphany.

I asked myself why I was going to the gym and wasting all of that work only to be disappointed in myself every single time I gave up. My dad had lifted weights in his prime and my friends were getting bigger as I continuously failed to dedicate myself to lifting.
I had half of the mentality of a health conscious person...
I knew what was right and wrong in regards to lifting and eating.. after all, I had learned to lift correctly in football.
I knew the lifts that needed to be done for particular body parts.
I knew when my friends in football didn't know what they were talking about in regards to a certain lift the coaches told them to do.
I took anatomy and physiology and understood how the body worked.
So why couldn't I get huge like my friends?
The only thing that was missing was the action. I had the knowledge but didn't put it to use.
I was looking for something magical to happen.. something that would somehow change my attitude and turn me into some hulking beast with bulging muscles and striations everywhere (lol). Unfortunately, even I knew that something like that wasn't going to happen.
I was looking for external motivation and not looking inward at myself for inspiration.
I realized that the only way for me to change was to really think about what I wanted and just do it.
Before, I wasted so much time over-thinking everything and not just going and doing it. I was the guy who would sit and say "Oh this is the right way to do this lift." but then lift light and not push myself.

I really credit the video Inspiration: How Bad Do You Want It? (Success) on youtube (Sorry can't post links)
and a certain post on these forums for helping me to change my mindset and for me deciding that I wasn't going to waste my life always giving up.
I really wish I remembered the post that contained this video and a few others because then I could give props to the OP.

I know i'm not huge and I know that I have failed before.. but you know what? I don't care.
I haven't given up and I know that now I never will.
This time giving up is not an option.
I go to the gym while my neighbors binge drink and eat pizza.
I eat grilled chicken and broccoli while my friends down cookies and ice cream.
You know why? Because I'm not the same person I once was.

I am now working hard and pushing myself to get into better shape so that hopefully, one day I can compete in a BB competition. I'm too far into my lifting routine to give up and hopefully you'll feel that way about yourself too if you don't already.

I hope that other people who are looking for motivation can look within themselves and find that spark that causes them to say
"Wtf am I doing?! Successful people don't do this. Successful people work their asses off for what they want. Do I want to be successful or do I want to be like this for the rest of my life?"
After all, the only person that can reach your goals is you. Nobody can do it for you.
Some people may say that it's unfortunate that others can't make you reach your goals but I say that's wrong. It makes a person 100 times stronger when they realize that they have the power to apply themselves and reap the rewards.

My favorite quote from the video mentioned above is:
"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe then you'll be successful."

Here's a list of some important things that I have come up with that can help people with their goals.
I am aware that these have all been covered before but they deserve repeating.

1. Change your mindset and you will reach your goals.
You can have all the fancy equipment in the world and the best protein powder but if you can't find it within yourself to work hard and push yourself toward your goals then it doesn't matter. If you can't look at yourself and say "I will work my hardest to achieve my goals" then that fancy equipment and powder won't help you.

2. Don't ever give up.
You can lose as many battles as necessary but if you keep going, eventually you'll win that war. Don't give up, you owe it to yourself to be the best that you can be. If you have already invested your time and effort into something.. why give up? You're already in the game, why walk away? Instead, push to gain something from it!

3. Don't be afraid to fail.
Like countless others have said before me. "Don't be afraid to fail." "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." There is no reason to be discouraged when you fail. We all fail.
Don't blame others for your failure either. If you want to be pissed at someone for your failure (even if it is someone else's fault) get pissed at yourself. Use that anger and put it toward making yourself better. Why waste that energy on something that can't be fixed; use it to your advantage instead.

4. Do not question yourself.
Being successful is a mind game. If you can trick yourself into thinking that you can do anything you will eventually believe it. The little voice in your head questioning your abilities can be trained to give encouragement and praise instead. (Not a real voice in your head.. but you know)

And most importantly..

5. Give life your all.
If you have a goal then reach it. There is no reason why you can't. If you need to work for another rep then do it. Don't think about it, just do it. It's easier said than done but once you know how to push yourself it bleeds over into all aspects of your life. Not just bodybuilding. Why not get that 6 figure job? Why not work hard to spend time with your kids? If you look closely you can tell that the people who are the happiest are the ones who know how to push themselves and who are willing to improve their lives.


If you take one thing from this post I would hope that it would be:
You only have one life. Why waste it always wishing you had done something different? Why not make your dreams a reality? You may not be able to get everything perfectly right but you can sure as hell try.
Do you want to be old and say to yourself "Why couldn't I be healthy? Why couldn't I be strong? Why didn't I have that beautiful family? Why didn't I have that nice house?
I challenge you to adopt an attitude of success if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed.
Remember that the only way you will ever reach your goals is if you decide deep down that that is what you want.
(Damn I sound like i'm trying to sell you a book here)

Feel free to add to my list or to say that it is crappy. I'm not aspiring to be a motivational author, I just want to help people who are looking to change.

[Coolcicada]

Great post.

I believe in many of the same things that you do. I also am a big fan of the video and the quote that you posted.

Have you seen the original speaker?

There is also a Part 2.

Keep up the good work!

[N.ser]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Yeah that guy is awesome. I watch some of his videos when I get stuck in a motivational video loop on youtube lol
It's cool that he teaches students how to work hard and be successful.

[selffirst]

Awesome brah......

[azxangeles]

Real cool man thanks for the post

[samw93]

nice

[RPG1992]

Good post man, I feel the same in some aspects. Just always continue to work hard and earn everything.

[Playlist]

thanks for taking the time to share man!wish you the best of luck!

[Chromath]

Well said mate. Really agree with you. I also never pushed myself and was always basically my biggest enemy. Always holding myself back and never doing what I truly wanted. With the help of bodybuilding I feel like I'm finally changing and becoming a better and happier version of myself. I don't ever want to give this up and I'll continue to push myself to reach my goals. I'm no longer my biggest enemy now.

[naturalhench]

Great post buddy! I'm glad you've got the right mindset to getting a good body.

Even better that you're doing this at 18. I only started when I was 24!

[N.ser]

Thanks everyone!
Good luck to all of you as well.

We all just have to get up every day and push some weight around!
It isn't worth the effort if you're half-assing it
"You're already in pain.. get a reward from it!"

[LightWeightBulk]

This post blows my mind. It sounds like it was written by myself, almost the same situation and everything. Good job sir

[N.ser]

This post blows my mind. It sounds like it was written by myself, almost the same situation and everything. Good job sir

I think a lot of people have either gone through this or are going through it as we speak.
Just stick it out and prove to yourself that you have what it takes.

[chaosheartx99]

Very interesting. You really have to be relentless with what you do. Thanks for sharing your inspiring story.

[spartanftw]

great post