Indulge or Endure

Lets start off with some definitions as our foundation for our topic.

Indulge: to yield to an inclination or desire; allow oneself to follow one’s will

Endure: to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo

These are two words that you all will fight for the rest of your life. I am not saying that the fight will be as intense on day-1 as it will be on day-180, but the fight will always exist! So long as you are provided with a choice, you will be required to make a decision. That decision will go one of two ways; you will indulge or you will endure. Many of the spiritual leaders that I look up to are asked, how did you become such a godly man? Their answer is always, “a summation of thousands of decisions in the right direction.” So many people want immidiate results when it comes to health and fitness, but the reality is that your success will depend on the summation of many decisions.

When we look at the definition of indulge we see a perfect picture of what happens when we give in to our desires. Notice the word “yield” in the definition. That means that you give way to your inclination or desire; you allow it to happen. You watch some TV instead of doing your workout, you sleep in instead of doing your workout, you have some pie or cake, you hit the late night drive thru, you have a few micro-brews. All of these decisions are indulgences and are a decision to move in the opposite direction of your goal. Yes you are making a choice to not reach your goal or at least hinder that achievement. People dont like to think that its their own fault when they slip up and dont meet the mark, but the fact is that every time you indulge, you are making a choice; the wrong choice! I know a pastor that says, “choose to sin, choose to suffer”. If you choose to indulge, you are also choosing to suffer the consequences of that indulgence. That holds true for all decisions in life.

On the other side of the coin though we have Endure! To sustain without impairment or yielding, nothing will stand in your way of success! To endure is also a choice. When given the opportunity to indulge, the person who endures looks past the immediate gratification and looks toward the goal. The goal is worth more than that temporary satisfaction that indulgence provides. And what do the consequences of enduring produce? They produce success, achievement, long lasting satisfaction with reward rather than consequence!

So how do you move from a lifestyle accustomed to indulgences to a lifestyle of enduring?

Determine what is important to you and write it down right now. Place it where you will see it every single day. The more you remind yourself what is truly important to you, the more likely you are to follow through with actions that will press you toward that. Do it right now, seriously! I do it with my goals and I look at them every single day! Does it help? When I see those goals, my mind paves the way to reach those goals! Yes it works!

You must realize though that just because you have some goals and have decided what is going to be most important to you, does not mean that the opportunity to indulge will go away. You still have to make that choice when the opportunity is provided. Birthday parties, going to dinner with friends, family gatherings…Lots of places where indulgence with rear its ugly head. But you dont need to be bound by satisfying immediate desires because your choice to endure will reap reward rather than consequence!

What it boils down to though is you, and what you want. If you ACTUALLY want to get healthy, get fit, or get ripped, then you will make the appropriate choices to get there. If you say you want all those things, but continue to indulge, then you dont REALLY want those things. Actions speak so much louder than words gang. So I have an idea…Lets let our results speak for themselves!!! The coolest part about all this though…we are all doin this thing together. I am pushin play every day and choosing to endure till the end and I know plenty of you who are doin the same! Keep BRINGIN IT RIPPEDCLUB!

What the hardest indulgence for you to resist? What can you do to help yourself choose to endure?