Well, the ‘Biggest Loser’ challenge has completed. I didn’t win, but I did end up losing 3% body fat, which is great! The whole challenge made me consider the following question: At which point can you say to yourself, “I’ve succeeded with weight loss?”
Is it when you reach your goal weight or clothing size? Is it when you can fit into a pair of jeans you haven’t worn since college? Is it when someone else says, “Hey, you look like you’ve lost weight?”
After thinking about it, I’d say you are a winner much sooner than that. Being a weight loss winner starts when you adopt an ‘Eye of the Tiger’ mindset. In the movie Rocky 3, Apollo Creed tells a defeated Rocky that he’s lost his ‘Eye of the Tiger’, which he describes as his edge. I took it further. I think it means having an unshakable determination, a willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed.
An ‘Eye of the Tiger’ mentality means that at times you will suffer, but you are able to keep your mind focused on the joy that is set before you. You are able to see the end results of your goal so vividly, the short-term sacrifices you make counts as nothing.
I also started to write that having an ‘Eye of the Tiger’ mentality means having an unshakable faith in yourself. But it goes even deeper than that. After all, you will disappoint yourself at times. You will get tired and you will become weak. In the bible, the apostle Paul even talks about instances in which he ended up doing things he hated and didn’t do the things he ought to have done.
So, you won’t always have unshakable faith in yourself. I think a surer bet to gaining an ‘Eye of the Tiger’ mentality is cultivating an unshakable faith in God. God never fails; He always keeps his promises; He knows the future; He is rich in love, wisdom, and righteousness. And best of all, He always knows the way so you can go to him, even when you are feeling lost.
The main thing that keeps us from having an unshakable faith in God is ‘pride’. We adults can sometimes be like two year olds, stubbornly doing the same things over and over, even though our actions are leading us down destructive paths. Even though we are in pain and desperately unhappy (and even obtain pleasure from transferring that unhappiness to others), we won’t submit to God because we’d rather have the pseudo-satisfaction of saying, “At least I’m doing it My Way.”
I think you are ultimately a winner when you realize that your way doesn’t work and decide to do things “His Way.” You gain peace and security when you do things His way. That is the ultimate spoil of victory!