It’s Not Where You Start That Counts

Most races have a start and finish.

Does the starting line matter after you finish? No, not really, because you and your loved ones don’t care where you started, only that you finished. The start was only the beginning of the adventure, but by finishing what you started, now it’s party time.

This is not to say starting isn’t essential because it is. Without a point in time where you start the endeavor of your choice, you’ll never finish it. Finishing what you started is like the pot of gold at the rainbow’s end.

But some people confuse the start and the finish line and think where they are now is the finish line; for some, it is only the start. Let’s explore this for a bit.

Start And Finish Line Confused

When you’re young, you don’t have the benefit of hindsight—where you are now feels like forever. Exhibit one, look no further than high school. The popular kids seem to sail through high school, thinking their popularity will never end, while for the rest, high school feels like something that will never end.

Some, I included, thought high school was the way it would be for a long time. Little did I know that high school was only the beginning of my journey into life, manhood, career, and all that life stuff.

But if someone told me as a teenager that there is a big wide world after high school, I would have brushed it off as ridiculous.

High school felt like a hell that would never end because I didn’t have the benefit of hindsight. When you’re older, hindsight is a valuable tool because you’re less likely to get the start and finish line confused.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, especially in the health and fitness realm.

You Wanna Start, Let’s Go

As a certified personal trainer for 13 years, clients come to me mainly to look, feel, and move better.

Potential clients are unhappy with how they look and want to reach the finish line as soon as possible. They start at A, but they have Z (finish) goals. The trainer needs to get the client to focus on B and C goals. Because it took time to get here, and it’s going to take some time to get to their finishing line

Most clients (in my experience) have no problem starting because they can easily see the finish line.

“Hey, this is what I want to look like.”

But when some realize how much work and time goes into their finishing line, they bug out. That’s not just an indictment on them but me too. I needed to explain the difficulties of reaching their finish line from the start.  

Those people who are dissatisfied with how they look but never put in the time and effort to start because they feel they will never change no matter what. From experience, these are the start-stop-start people who think they’ve tried everything and nothing works. They quit because they believe they are at the finishing line, not the starting line.  

You only have to look at the global obesity problem as exhibit A. It’s a challenging disease with many mitigating factors, but the people who suffer from it have to believe they’re at the starting line, not the finish line.  

N=1 Of Starting & Finishing

I’m living proof that it’s not where you start; it is where you finish that counts. The following is not meant as a brag but hopefully a little inspiration to you.

And by no means am I at the finish line, but I’ve made some progress with this thing called life.

If you’re having trouble starting, finishing, or getting the two confused, please remember that it’s not where you start that counts. Because we all have to start somewhere, it counts where you finish.

Past me: I was a loser with the ladies until the boys told me something was amiss.

Now: I have been happily married for 20 years and counting.

Past me: I Had sand kicked in my face for the first 21 years of my life.

Now: I’ve been lifting weights for 30 years and teaching people to be awesome by being stronger versions of themselves.

Past me: I failed English in high school and despised reading and writing. And I couldn’t write my way out of a wet paper bag.

Now: I have become a trainer and got into fitness writing. Currently, I have been writing on this blog for around seven years. And write for Muscle & Fitness, Barbend, and Garage Gym Reviews.

Wrapping up

Your starting line and what you want to achieve may differ from mine, but the truth is the same. Your life and what you want to do with it have nothing to do with where you start. It is where you finish that counts.