Struggle. A word that conjures up images of fighting for something and making mistakes, falling, getting back up.

Struggling means you’re pushing hard for something, deep in concentration.

And for many reasons, you try to avoid that struggle. You want things to come easy.

But in the struggle lies the grand prize — the reward, the triumph of attaining a hard-earned goal or achievement.

If your efforts are too easy, the result is ho-hum. So bland as almost to go unnoticed.

You want that feeling of triumph that comes only from sustained, valiant effort. It is your ultimate reward, your glorious victory over defeat.

The Only Way Toward Your Sweet Reward

Think about any goal or achievement you’ve worked hard to reach.

If you stuck with it, through tears, frustration, almost quitting, but getting back on your feet, reaching that finish line was oh so very sweet. Nothing else comes close.

Never be afraid to struggle, fail, and eventually overcome challenges and frustrations. It only makes you stronger.

Desirable Difficulties — Not An Oxymoron

In the video, you heard me talk about desirable difficulties. That’s not a phrase I just coined myself. It comes from Robert A. Bjork, a Distinguished Research Professor at the Univerity of California Los Angeles, who first introduced this theme in 1994.

This idea of desirable difficulties as discussed by Bjork, says that much like our muscles respond to exercise by getting stronger and more efficient, so too does our brain in response to overcoming struggle.

Without struggle in your life, forcing you to improve always by reaching higher and higher, your brain, your mind, wouldn’t grow stronger.

Desirable difficulties. Puts an entirely new slant on the idea of struggle and challenge, doesn’t it?

Instead of being seen as a negative, it means positive growth and improvement.

Outside Your Comfort Zone

You’ve heard it said that the magic happens outside your comfort zone. Recoiling from struggle out of fear, avoiding pushing yourself to improve, leaves you stagnate.

Don’t mistake struggle for failure. That struggle is your path to overcoming failure.

Failure isn’t to be feared. Failing just means you’re growing, improving.

You’re getting better.

Then, finally, you triumph over your struggles.

So go ahead. Reach beyond your comfort zone.

Don’t be afraid to fall. You’ll get back up again.

And again.

You’ll keep getting up until you stay up.

That’s not failing. That’s success.

Success made all the richer for the depth of your struggle.

What struggles in your life have you overcome to reach success? Do you fear that struggle or embrace it? How do you deal with it? Let’s continue the conversation over on my Facebook page. Head over there now and post your thoughts. Click here to share your thoughts now:  Teri’s Facebook Page.

 

Even if you exercise for an hour or so every day, your activity level for the rest of the time is also critical to your health. For many of us, a brisk walk around the block or 45 minutes at the gym simply does not make up for sitting for a good portion of the day. Sitting for long periods of time is not contributing to good health, even if you exercise regularly. Why is sitting so bad for us and what can you do to incorporate more movement into your day?

According to an article in NutritionAction.com, researcher Genevieve Healy from the University of Queensland in Australia tracked more than 123,000 adults for 14 years, and discovered a higher risk of premature death in people who sat continually for six hours a day or more compared to people who sat for less than three hours. This risk of premature death in the sitting group of participants was true even in those who exercised on a regular basis. Healy explained why sitting is so bad for us. “The large postural muscles of your legs and back are not contracting while you’re sitting,”, noted Healy. She explained that fewer muscle contractions means that sugars and fats take longer to be cleared from the bloodstream, and “they’re more likely to be stored as body fat or to clog arteries.”

Healy’s research found that taking breaks from long periods of sitting can really make a difference. Nineteen overweight adult participants were instructed to sit for two hours, drink a liquid meal of 765 calories, and and then sit for another five hours. One day, they sat still for the entire five hour period. On other days, they stood up every 20 minutes and walked on a treadmill at a mild to moderate pace of 2 to 3 miles per hour.

When the results of sitting without a break or walking on the treadmill were compared, the treadmill users lowered their insulin and blood sugar levels by 25 percent. Study results were documented in Diabetes Care 35:946,2012.

Simply standing up more often could help improve your health. The trick is to break up long stretches of sitting at a desk or in front of the TV with standing up and moving around more. Researchers advise us to get up and move at least every 30 minutes, and to add more movement and activity to our days.

Less sitting and more activity can translate into better Health, so do yourself a favor and get up out of that chair!