How Success, as a role model once told me, is defined purely by yourself.
To my dear 10 year old nephew, success is zapping 1000 aliens on his X-box, PSP, Wiiiiiiiii-thingy. For Alex Ferguson, it's winning titles in football every year. Whilst in the quest for being fit, success is purely defined by one's own personal standards.
As a personal trainer and fitness model competitor, I have learned that it’s incredibly important to ensure your body is in peak condition. You can't always expect other people to understand what you are doing and the reasons why, but for me, competing in Fitness was ultimately based on a personal overall goal: to inspire other people and be the best that I can be. Although not everyone aspires to step on stage and to take their fitness levels to this level, many of the same principles of goal setting, motivation, training, and diet applies in other situations requiring focus, dedication, and determination.
As cliché as it might sound, we need to believe before things can actually happen. Using visualization and inspiration, having a solid diet and training plan in which you trust, and starting every day confident in the routine, will bring you one step closer to success. Knowing what you want to achieve, reasons why you want to do it, and knowing what to do on a daily basis are paramount for getting the results you are looking for.
For me, training and dieting provides great structure as the routine takes away any concern or guess work - it simply requires action and focus on what I'm doing at that very moment. I always have my meals prepared in advance and my training is always planned out weeks in advance. As the days progress, I find it helpful to have small rewards such as a massage, a new pair of jeans, or another treat not related to food or training. Celebrating your achievements is incredibly important for staying positive and enjoying the journey to the ultimate destination.
As my nephew, Fergie, and I can vouch, you win big by knowing you have won small. At least I think that's what my wee alien blasting pal said, although he was too busy cheering to say much at all.