It took me 8 years to get my BSME. 8 freakin years. That includes night school, working full time and having a baby. That's the most persistent I've ever been.

And now I've joined Curves (or WILL on Monday, after we move) and I WILL lose 50 pounds, damn it!

I have always been determined and completed a goal. When I went to night school and worked during the day it took me 10 years to obtain my B.A. but I knew that I would definitely get it. The same goes for any achievement. Losing weight was an important health related one and I am consistent in going to the gym and watching my calories.

When I completed university I applied to law school and then was accepted. But I had to wait another year to work in a law firm due to financial constraints. Finally did get my law degree, then passed the bar and am now working. But it was rough, and no fun. With weight I have problems which are not going away. I try to work out frequently and do the right thing with food but this is the hardest type of goal to achieve.

There is no easy way to get your body in shape. It takes daily workouts which are gruelling and necessary but when I had to do it I decided to devote myself to it fully and completely. It did work but the thing I realized is that it is an ongoing proposition which never changes nor gets any easier so if you continue with this regime at least it is familiar. Two years ago I had to work temporarily at an onerous and unpleasant job for 5 months. I dreaded it each day but it was important since my husband was unemployed. I completed the contract and ws relieved when it was over but did appreciate the experience it gave me and the lesson it taught me as well. It was tough but I stuck with it.

An update: The new me officially weighs 3.6 pounds less than last week. Love those "first week on the new plan" weight loss results. lol.

Army Basic Training

Basic training requires a lot of things, persistence being the most important. There were a lot of people that were "falling out" of runs & road marches.

Think 95+ degree weather in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Combat boots, thick black socks, BDU's (long sleeve shirts & pants), gas mask strapped to your hips and one thigh (rubbing your legs raw as you walked), rucksack filled with extra socks, underwear, more BDU's, Bengay, babywipes, deodorant(not that it helped), combat paint, shovel and mat attached to the outside of the rucksack (I know I am forgetting some things here), rifle in your hands and a very heavy helmet on your head (which was constantly sliding down because the sweat band was more like a soft plastic that would slide very easily when wet).

That was my dress code with the exception of "PT" (Physical Training) in the morning which consisted of the best clothes we were allowed to wear. A sweat suit.

Now most people would think that PT would be the worst part of basic. They couldn't be more wrong. We woke up in the morning and had a nice hard workout which ALWAYS included running a few miles. Once we put our BDU's on, we would road march several miles until we got to our training site for the day. We would almost always wear the BDU gear I already mentioned. Part of our march was usually on blacktop and the other part was on really firm sand or really soft sand. I still think the soft sand was the worst. You know how it feels when you are walking down the beach to try and get to the water? Try doing that with somewhere between 70-100 lbs of gear on your back, a rifle in your hands, and combat boots on your feet. It made me feel very sluggish. I liked the hard surfaces because when my vision would start to blur I could easily put one foot in front of the other.

Listen to me going on. I haven't even started describing what we actually did during those days.

13 years? So I need to stop bitching about 5, then, huh?

I think if I get my MA it's going to take persistence. It's been a few years since I finished college (a 5 year degree in 4, thankyouverymuch), and I think I'm a little out of practice. Not to mention those three kids who insist on living in my house.

After my kids went back to school I started walking on the treadmill everyday before I go to work. I recently had a bad cold and couldn't do much of anything but today I started again.

Gosh, y'all make me feel bad. The only thing that I've really dreaded at times that I've stuck with is Homeschooling my daughter (and later this year my Son as well). She's 11 now and has never been in public school. There are days when she makes me want to bang my head against a wall, and others where she makes me SO proud I could burst. And I know that I'm doing the right thing for her, that's what is MY motivation!

Well, I've been in grad school 8+ years now, and the end is very much in sight. Although considering that I've only had myself and a cat to take care of through it all, I'm actually feeling rather whimpy after reading through everyone's comments. But it's definitely taken persistence.

However, what comes to mind more to me when I think of persistence are the shorter duration but really truly arduous mental things that I've made myself buckle down and fought for. Trying again and again and again to work through a problem and not giving up until I get it, no matter how badly I want to. Because I usually really, really, really want to give up. So the times when I've succeeded in making myself stick until I get it really feel like a triumph.

I ran 8 of my 10 miles goal last week. It's a start.

Jo, I was lmao of at your post. I went to OSUT at Ft MacClellan. We sure did lug around a lot of crap lol, but I loved every minute of it. Yes, I'm one of those weird people that liked basic. I think it the challenge that was the thrill.

I've lost two pounds. Yay me. And I have my very own copy of The Warrior Trainer sitting on my nightstand. Because I signed at Borders in Charlotte with Gerri this past week and got to hear her fabulous workshop on perisitence. She fired me up to keep at it, even if you only write Chapter Four you are at least writing something.
yay Gerri! Here's to much success.

Yeesh! The only thing I can say I've stuck with persistently is raising the same teenager for 16 years without trading him in, killing him, or leaving him in the woods. My hat's off to you ladies!

Okay Brandy and Janina - those are not small things!

Jen, good for you!! And Curves is great. 30 minutes rocking out to way fun music. I do the regular gym with the weight machines now, but it's not as much fun!

Sharon, that's terrific! I started law school at night, working full time during the day for the first year, and it nearly killed me, so you have my full admiration!

Alissa! Congrats on the bar exam! I'm licensed in 3 different states, and I never got happier about those damn Property questions. Really, who gives a crap about Blackacre??? lol.

Ellie, good for you!! Sticking out a terrible job can be the worst.

Jo, I got tired and thirsty just reading your post. Thanks for your service.

Cate, you can do it!! We are your cheerleaders!!

Maureen, glad you're feeling better!

Brandy, kids are the best motivation, aren't they?

Yahoo Theresa! Congrats on being almost there!

Loribelle, 8 miles is about 5 more than I ran! Great job!

Yay Cindy! Two pounds is great!

Janina, living teens is a good goal, I'm guessing. lol.

RR, I totally agree!

I guess my only thing is keeping writing, I've been doing it for 9 years and seriously for almost 5 (it'll be 5 exactly in June)

Yay!! I've lost 2 pounds so far!! As for persistance, I guess that I went back to college when my ex left me and our three girls, got my x-ray degree and now I make more money than he does :) That's a really short summing up of three hard years of college, working weekends, and raising 3 girls, but I'm proud that I stood up and took care of things myself and didn't wait for someone to "rescue me".
Berni

When I stepped on the scales and they read 200 pounds I said to myself "that's it, the weight has got to go". I lost 20 pounds by dieting and working out on the stepper and treadmill at home, but then I found Curves and it is great. What a support group! All of these women encouraging and cheering each other to lose weight and get fit. It was so much easier. Then bad news....I injured my back and guess what....some of those pounds have come back. I have moved away from an area that has a Curves close by so it's back to the home workouts and a stationary recumbent bike for me. Guess the only thing I have really been persistent about over the years is always making time to read a good book. It has been 62 years since I learned to read, and that's a lot of books.

It took us 18 months of hard trying to conceive our baby (and before that, several years of "not being careful") ... every time Aunt Flo showed up, my heart would break a little. Then Aunt Flo stopped coming for months, and I thought every single day that I must be pregnant despite negative pee sticks and blood tests and bad-news doctors visits. Finally they recommended me to a specialist, I underwent a multiple-procedure surgery, and still, for six months, no positive pee stick. I had booked an appointment with the specialist to get put on fertility drugs, and I had personally looked at my husbands swimmers under a microscope at home and determined they were good, when at long last, after I'd peed on what seemed like a hundred pregnancy tests over the years, when I'd spent all those hours of my life squinting at the wee little "pregnant/not pregnant" window and willing a line to appear - one did. Those two little lines were the most beautiful (albeit urine-scented) things I'd ever seen - until my daughter was born, that is. I kept hoping and trying and finally, she happened. And I know, each day, what a miracle she is. I'll even forgive her for the seven months of puking and the 109 hours of labour. She is worth every monthly heartbreak, every morning and evening spent kissing the porcelain god, every mile of walking the hospital hallways, the ambulance trip, the lack of an epidural, traveling through a blizzard, the MONTHS where she woke up 10+ times a night to be fed ... I'd do it all again, gladly, for her.

Lis, Berni, Ruby, thanks so much for sharing! A big LC cheer! And Jenn, you made me get all teary.

Forgot to post the winners! Random number generator picked 6, 8, 11, and 12, so Jo, Maureen, Loribelle, and Berni, please email me at alesia@alesiaholliday.com with your mailing address and I'll send you your book! Congrats!! And thanks for playing, everybody!