What P90X Can Teach You About Paying Off Debt

Hello everyone and welcome to Enemy of Debt!

As most of you know, I recently realized that my actions were not aligned with my goals. This prompted me to fire up the engine room over at Enemy of Fat, but also, to start P90X right now, as opposed to later. My initial goal was to wait until I had lost a few pounds first, then start P90X.

It occurred to me that I may have created the prolonged start for P90X because I was scared, AND knew P90X was going to be tough. Although some of my initial decision was based on the fact that I got injured the first time, ultimately, it was no excuse not to GO FOR IT this time around. I injured myself, but injuries can be prevented if you take the proper precautions.

Last Tuesday, I decided to GO FOR IT! I’m now on day 6 of 90, and in those first 6 days, I lost a total of 7 pounds.

In the process of completing my first week of the popular P90X Extreme Workout program, I was reminded of what it felt like back in 2008 when we started our debt free journey.

I was scared. I lacked confidence. I was haunted by the many times before we attempted to get on a budget but failed. I was frightened by how my life was going to change and what I was going to have to give up. Most of all though, I was terrified of what we were about to take on.

That sounds a lot like what it felt like for me to take on my bulging waistline.

None of those reasons or fears are justification for not doing anything. The fact of the matter is that you are going to have to face the grim reality eventually. You’re in debt NOW, and you must do everything you can to get out of it NOW!

P90X has taught me that in life, most of us, give up long before we should. Our breaking point is way too low because we have never tried to push ourselves to our limits. Paying off debt can be a stressful endeavor, but just because your first, second, or even third attempt to live on a budget fails, you MUST NOT GIVE UP. Just because you messed up and went on a shopping spree because you were feeling down in the dumps and shopping cheers you up, doesn’t mean you should give up.

Tony from P90X, tells me to do my best, and forget the rest. That means I may not be able to keep up with the others. I may not get everything right the first time. I may even have a few hiccups along the way that derail my efforts. That is no time to give up! That is when you find out what you are made of!

That is when you dig deep and you say I can do this and you forget about your struggle. You stop letting your past mess with your mind and your confidence. When that happens you are playing a mental game you cannot win. You will always find a reason or justification (in your mind) that causes you to abandon what you know you should do.

If I think about all the many times I attempted and failed at losing weight, I would have ZERO confidence to work on my problem NOW! Forget about the past. The past is the past. It’s not an indicator of your ability to accomplish what you want to accomplish so badly .

I know I need to lose weight, but I can’t tell you how many times I have let my mind dictate my actions. Excuses are reasons we give in an attempt to justify NOT doing something important, even though we know we should, so that we can continue to live in denial. Excuses are a way of telling ourselves that we’ve done all we can. Nothing more can be done. I’ve written before about how your attitude determines your actions. If you believe something can’t be done, you won’t even attempt to do it.

Lastly, P90X is the very definition of struggle. When I am doing P90X, I am burning and my muscles are sore. Everything in me wants to quit RIGHT NOW! What I have learned is that we have a lot more in us than we think. The first time something gets difficult is the precise moment we should step up to the plate and give it our all.

For instance, last night, when I was standing up against the wall in a seated position with my legs together, hands by my side, my thighs were BURNING BEYOND BELIEF! I thought I was going to die, but I knew that wasn’t true, it was just my mind trying to convince me to stop. I DIDN’T! I kept holding it and eventually I got to a point where it was impossible to continue to stay in that position. My legs were starting to shake, and I had to get up!

I stood up shakily, shook it out for about 10 seconds, and instead of calling it a day, I jumped back into the count and finished the last 7 seconds of that wall squat, as painful as that was! My point is that if I would have given up the first time, I wouldn’t have realized what I was capable of. I just had to recoup, refocus, and rejoin my efforts because it was worth it to do so.

The same can be said for you and your debt. Paying off debt can be exhausting. It can get the best of you. It can make you believe things that aren’t true. What it can’t do is defeat you if you don’t give up! Keep leaning up against that wall! Keep pushing yourself to give it your all! You will find that sometimes, pushing pause is the right thing to do; but don’t, whatever you do, decide to forfeit the game. You are in it to win it, and as long as you are doing your best success will be yours!

If you are moving forward you will always hit your goal! The harder you work, the faster it happens! BRING IT BABY! 😀

I have not “officially” relaunched Enemy of Fat, but I have started using it as my journal for accountability purposes. I would love it if you went over and subscribed to keep track of my progress, hold me accountable, and show your support for me during this tough but necessary journey. I would love to see you there! I have a lot of design work and loose ends to manage, but for the most part Enemy of Fat is operational! You never know when you’ll read something over there that inspires you to get that debt paid off.

Have a GREAT week! 😀