What Really Matters In This Fitness Industry

On a transformation photo I posted yesterday I had a number of responses from Facebook and Instagram saying that I looked better in 2017 than I do in 2019.

The caption was about the fact that the closer you get to your genetic ceiling, the harder it is to progress towards your health and fitness goals.

Nothing to do with how I looked, everything to do with being encouraged by the process instead of being discouraged by the progress [ or lack of ].

Reading between the lines what the comments were saying was, "Brock, I think you looked better in 2017 compared to 2019."

I don't mind receiving these messages because I have learnt how to deal with them but I just can't help but shake the thought of a person receiving comments like these that doesn't know how to deal with them.

A person with low self esteem and damaged confidence.

A person with many insecurities that wears them on their sleeve and is fragile.

A person that has put all their energy and effort into losing weight, daily workouts, massive lifestyle changes (stopping smoking, giving up alcohol or surrounding themselves with more positive people) and maybe even invested into a personal trainer to transform their body.

Imagine if this person received a comment that what they have been doing for two years [ 730 days ] was a waste of time and made them look worse than they did before.

Can you imagine what would be running through that persons head...

"Whatever I do, I'll never be good enough."

OR

"I try everything but it never works."

I have already received a number of emails from current clients and messages from followers on Instagram saying how if they had received messages like that they could have possibly taken it personally and taken it negatively.

When someone is in a negative space of mind

1) Health and fitness is not JUST about what we look like.

It's about how we feel.

It's about the progress we make.

It's about the process of getting better.

It's about the journey of transformation and self development.

2) Your version of better is different to everyone else's.

The person you think looks worse may be super proud of how they look and how far they have come.

3) Words either build up or discriminate, we must be careful with how we use them.

I have lived my life by this bible verse since the age of 14.

"The power of the tongue is life and death — those who love to talk will eat what it produces." Proverbs 18:21

To put it very bluntly, we either speak life or death.

I know that's heavy but it's the reality.

Before you open your mouth put yourself in the persons shoes that will be receiving it.

"DON'T BE DISCOURAGED BY THE PROGRESS, BE ENCOURAGED BY THE PROCESS."
B. Ashby, 2019