As we navigate our paths toward better health and wellbeing, we often overlook how much of that power resides within us. Too frequently, we become passive,letting life simply “happen” rather than taking control. Xa’v shares his inspiring perspective on how to not only improve your health but also take charge of your life’s direction. Here is his message:
Fail more, fail often, fail so much that it sickens! When you’re tired of failing, fail some more till there is an insatiable hunger to win! That hunger will fuel the fire of your desire and transform into your energy source. Anger. Anger because you haven’t achieved your goals and everyone else has. Anger because you know your life is more than mediocrity. Anger because you are the one who’s sabotaging yourself and wasting your untapped potential. So, what are you going to do? Continue to let it happen? Be like the majority and settle for the modest life? Or are you going to break the cycle and be the first one in your generation to do the impossible, become the first millionaire, the first pro athlete, the first movie star!
Xa’v Mitchell Donovan, one of the distinguished judges for the VI Iconic
Showcase, is a passionate advocate for empowering youth through fitness
and mindset transformation. In his mission, he emphasizes that health and
wellness are not merely physical endeavors but transformative journeys
rooted in personal empowerment.
I was watching my usual YouTube motivational speeches when part came on and made me pause. I sat in silence for thirty (30) minutes, as I scanned my room, reflecting on my life. The truth is, I knew which habits needed to be broken, the friends I needed to spend less time with and actions needed to be taken. We know what we are supposed to do, but how many of us actually get up and start? “But I’m tired.” “Life is so hard right now.” “I need more money to start that business.” “I’m not qualified enough to apply.” These are excuses I used; a projection of my fears. I often lean on the crutch of excuses whenever I can, because the False Evidence Appearing Real is easier to cope with, than admitting I am undisciplined and scared to take a chance on myself.
You’re going to face challenges and setbacks in your life, just be ready for them. Prepare your mind and body for life’s hardships, by shifting your mindset to that of positive thinking. Place an inner standard, equivalent to the dream that you want to make a reality and execute! Life doesn’t care if you were ‘a good student’ or, ‘such a nice person’ and ‘this shouldn’t happen to me!’ it throws everything and the kitchen sink! It will beat you to your knees AND up against a wall if you let it. Now, this is where the roads fork and you get classed into either average, or, become a part of the relentless. You have two choices; you can decide to let the world win or you can become relentless and fight back!
The Relentless, are the people you see on Instagram and TikTok with the Lamborghini’s, big houses, nice jewelry and bank accounts that look like a phone number! They didn’t just happen there one morning. They planned and worked on their goal for years! These luxuries are their rewards for pursuing their purpose and being relentless in this pursuit. Tony Robbins said it best, “People are rewarded in public, for what they practice in private!” You can change your entire life in a year if you wanted to – the hardest part is starting. You don’t need to know steps three (3) through thirty
(30) as yet. Be concerned about only the first step and the next would become obvious.
Start by just changing your environment. That way it won’t be easy to fall back into bad habits by keeping everything around you the same. If your goal is to achieve a better physique, then, empty the snack drawer and replace it with fruit. Fill your refrigerator with whole foods and natural juices. Unsubscribe from those Tik-Tok accounts which show you unhealthy foods.
Anything you consume is a part of your diet. This includes: the conversations you have, the foods you eat, the videos you watch, or, even the music you listen to. The next step is putting research into deeds. You don’t need more information you need more action. You’ve already read the books and listened to the podcasts. Now, it’s time to get those reps in! Stop procrastinating and do what you’ve researched. Our feedback loop for positive information and progress is usually determined by how much time we take between gathering information and taking action. By procrastinating you can literally stretch a one-day task, into a month-long project if you wanted to. So, just start!
This is the foundation for success. To keep this going, remember, you have to be able to reprogram your mind. Unlearn all of the negative thinking and destructive habits keeping you in your current cycle. We’ve been conditioned to think that failure is bad and getting things wrong is unacceptable. Through school, all of the students who got ‘A’s’ were praised while ‘C’ students were frowned upon. A question answered incorrectly, would be met with a harsh, “WRONG!” accompanied by the mocking and laughter of our peers. We would react by sinking far down into our chairs, almost wishing we could disappear and never be remembered. This set the tone for our entire academic career and has been ingrained in our subconscious. This is why we are so afraid to take a chance and risk looking stupid in front of the world which was once the class. We laugh at people who dare to be different, because we were once the ones being laughed at. Transform that hurt into hope, that pain into purpose! Don’t allow negativity to control your actions. According to Les Brown. “Another person’s opinion does not determine your destiny.” Speak positive words over your life and consume the same.
Most of what we do as human beings is dependent upon our emotions and if we are unmotivated, we won’t continue to pursue our goals. This is where discipline comes in and with it, consistency. If we wait for the days when we “feel like it,” we would have far less of those days, than if we showed up every-day regardless of how we felt. Discipline will carry you when that feeling of motivation
dies. It will also be the very reason it reignites. Stop looking at how long it takes to get where you’re going and just be certain that you will get there! Imagine, if I told you that in one (1) year you’d become a millionaire and have the lifestyle of your dreams if you stayed the course, would you keep working towards it, or, would you slow down? I’m positive that you’d double up and go even harder! Discipline, consistency, relentlessness and positive thinking are the four (4) pillars of every success story, extraordinary individual and memorable event. These are the characteristics of every one of the greats in history. Those people turned away from normal, created their own path, wrote their own script, directed their own movie and danced to the beat of their own drum. Now, I pass the pen to you!
How will you write your story?