Sunday, March 4, 2012

Twin Pillars: Patience and Persistence


Dear NIP,

            With all the recent traffic to the blog over the last few days due to the release of HealthyState.org’s article, I’ve decided to pen an extremely brief blurb about the blog and its aims. More than anything, I began this blog two years ago to reach out to others who want to accomplish their goals, whether they are weight-loss or personal growth oriented. If you’re a first time visitor and want to read letters that address weight loss/physical health, then I would check out letters such as Genesis, Exodus, or The Land of Milk and Honey; if you’d like to read some that address the more philosophical aspects of living life to the fullest, then you might want to read letters like Strive, Gratitude for the Here and Now, or May the Blessings Be (or check out the "Popular Posts" on the left-hand side below).

            The other reason I wanted to write this short note is to post the radio interview that aired on WUSF the afternoon of 3/1. Though we talked for more than 40 minutes, the interview is only 4 ½ in length. Don’t get me wrong, Dalia did an excellent job putting it together, but if there were one additional thing I wish had been left in the edited version was what I said at the tail end of the interview: patience and persistence. To me, these are the twin pillars upon which all of our personal development must stand. I had remarked during the interview that I feel that’s the biggest mistake others make is establishing unrealistic goals (or perhaps timelines within which they expect to achieve said goal). I’ve had people ask me, “if I want to lose 25 lbs. in a month, how can I do it?” While there are ways it can be done, they often involve taking short cuts—and short cuts only backfire in the long run. We are better off by applying ourselves a little more each day, building momentum and willpower that will eventually begin to create a snowballing of personal progress. As this momentum gains traction, you’ll find it gets much easier to turn away from temptations that once got the best of you. But it won’t happen overnight. My journey began nearly 15 years ago and it took lots of learning before I even really grasped at what I was trying to do—allow my life to flourish to its maximum capacity. Granted, this never would have been possible without Erin. If she’s “the bedrock of my being,” it is upon this foundation that I have erected the twin pillars of patience and persistence.

            If you’re not a patient and persistent person, NIP, then these would be the first two attributes I would try to cultivate each day. Don’t be discouraged when you backslide, we all lose our grip from time to time during the toughest climb of our lives. But just as I said in the interview, if I can do this, anyone can. In one of the earliest letters my last secret to a successful life is to “keep chipping away.” Our lives are individual works of art and we are the sculptors holding the hammer and chisel. With patience and persistence as our guiding hands, our magnum opus can be wrought. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog. I hope that in some of these letters you can find some reassurance and inspiration to institute the changes you want to make in your own life.

Patience and persistence, NIP, are the keys to any goal you want to accomplish...

- Ryan  


Meet Ryan Haczynski, Voted Tampa Bay's Healthiest Person from HealthyState.org on Vimeo.

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