| The Glass Ceiling By Kevin Parker |
|
Back to The Edge |
|
The Glass Ceiling: Real or Self-Imposed? Don’t you hate it when people rain on your parade? When you tell a friend a goal & they try to talk you into something less difficult? Have you met someone who limited themselves & what they could achieve? I’ve met thousands of fitness enthusiasts over the last 22 years & one of the major differences between eventual success or failure has been whether that individual believed their goals were achievable or a pipe dream with only a slim margin of realization. Because of ignorance, I was oblivious to my own limitations. Had I known then what I know now, it would have discouraged me. I didn’t have great genetics for competitive bodybuilding. Now that I look back, I really only had one thing going for me that God capitalized on. I was too stubborn to quit. Competitive bodybuilding was & is my Mt. Everest! Why would I be attracted to something I was so obviously unsuited for? The abstract answer is “Because it’s there.” The specific answer is because of the mental challenge. Now did you catch that last sentence? I didn’t say the physical challenge but the mental challenge; it wasn’t a mistake. I like the saying from my boot camp days; “Get your mind right & your butt will follow.” Physical fitness is mostly mental, not physical! Your dedication to diet, your mental commitment to push yourself further than last time, your discipline to go to the gym when you don’t want to; all these things are controlled by your mind. Once you understand that your mind is in control of your body & your body isn’t controlling your mind, the only thing that separates you from your goals is time. Physical limitations can be overcome but mental ones will never be overcome until they cease to exist. Here’s another truth I’ve learned: Most of our limits are self-imposed. Whether we believe what someone else has said to limit us or simply said to ourselves, “I can’t do that”; we believe the lies. Most of us have only achieved a fraction of our potential! And this isn’t specific to fitness either. Whether it’s limiting our physical growth potential or our own self worth, we’ve decided we can only go so far and there is a limit. I limited myself for years in what I could achieve in bodybuilding. I challenge you to take the limits off your life by looking to Someone greater than yourself. Look at what God has done for people who limited themselves. Look at Moses who had no interest in facing Pharaoh to have the Israelites freed. Look how far a simple shepherd named David went, look how 12 (including Paul) simple men (mostly non-educated men) helped to start the religion we now know as Christianity! There are two things necessary to overcome our limitations. One, we should be persistent & not accept permanent failure and two, we should have faith that God can use us for his grandest plans. He can help us to grow past our limitations but we must turn to Him for help! One of my favorite scriptures is I Corinthians 1:27, where Paul says, “God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” (NLT) That means there’s hope for me! So know you can achieve far greater things than you can imagine if you are persistent & have faith that He is able to do great things with your life! Your brother in Christ, Kevin Parker These newsletters are not a substitute for a doctor’s advice, prescription or care. Please have a physical by a qualified physician before embarking on a workout program. http://home.hot.rr.com/kevinparkers http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drugfreebodybuilding T |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|