a lesson learned from the biggest loser

so i've realized recently that i enjoy reality tv.  my favorite show right now is the biggest loser.  it's just really great to watch people who have eaten themselves into a bad place gain control of their bodies and lives.

this past week as i was watching the show, something really cool happened.  jillian michaels was running the contestants on treadmills.  they were all running at their max for sets of 20 second sprints.  it was the end of their workout and they were tired and done.  at least so they thought.  just as they were breathing that sigh of relief and accomplishment, jillian informed them that they were going to sprint one more time.  each of them at a higher incline than ever, and each of them for 2 miles an hour more than their "max."

the look on their faces was priceless.  determination meets fear meets doubt.

of course they all finished the sprints.  to say they were pumped or excited would be a gross understatement.  to them, they had just completed the impossible.  climbed a personal mount everest.

watching this event was somewhat of a minor turning point in my life.  lots of thoughts hit me at once.  i am currently doing p90x again.  (the first time i made it only to 60 days, but the holidays hit, and my workout petered out...)  i wondered how many "impossible" things for me are actually possible right now.  unfortunately i don't have jillian michaels hanging around my house telling me that i have to push those limits, so i realized that i would have to push myself and stop self imposing limits to my abilities.  if i try to lift a weight and physically can't, that's one thing.  but to assume i can't lift heavier and not even try, that to me is now unacceptable.  i have been trying not to listen to my head when it says that i've done enough reps.  i do another one anyway.  and if i completed it.  i do another one.  until my body really honestly can't do any more.  i don't take breaks anymore.  (i would if i really felt i were dying, but guess what... i never have!!)

it's made a huge difference.  of course i haven't seen physical results yet, since i just watched the show last wednesday.  BUT emotionally and mentally i am happier and stronger than ever.

honestly speaking, i have thought about the extra 2 miles an hour every single day since i saw the show.  and i wonder how much of my life is affected by not pushing it a little bit more.  by making excuses for behaviors saying i am incapable of being better.  saying i am incapable of being more patient.  saying i am incapable of making that phone call and reconnecting.  or whatever else...

i hope that i never forget this lesson i learned from the biggest loser.  i hope that as i go through life i realize that there are times i could be running 2 miles an hour faster than i am.  real and sometimes drastic changes come from running the extra 2 miles an hour faster.  may this be something we all remember.