Your mind.
Its no accident that one of the recurring themes for
training success around here has been to maintain the right attitude. I don't
know if that alone will ultimately determine just how far someone will go since
there are many other factors involved, but I sure can tell you that you can
sure go a lot farther when your "mind is right" than when it isn't.
As the old saying goes,“ it's the mind which drives the bus.
Keep it up!“ Its a fact of life that everyone has setbacks ... the real
question then becomes: "so what are
you going to do now?"
I could give you many
examples of people who are just getting it done, through they have got plenty
of good reasons to quit ... and conversely, I could give you just as many
examples of people who have quit when they have plenty of good reasons to keep
going.
The way I see it, if you are serious about training, then
you program your mind to keep at it,
regardless of setbacks.
Something I recently realized is that you'll never regret a workout
that you did, only the ones you miss - even when its something as simple as
pushups on the floor, or going out and walking a mile.
When it comes to physical training, there is always "a
way." You can always do something. You can always get better at something
- and that's important because no matter where you might find yourself, you can
build from there.
Day after day, year after year, decade after decade… When I
train people, I can see who is following
through on nutrition and who is not. I can see who doesn't
eat enough and who eats too much junk food. I can see who wants to win by how hard
they train vs who is content with merely being there, taking up space, just
being a body.
“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty
are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for
they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.” Heraclitus
Get out of bed and
stop feeling sorry for yourself. Don't blame your life. You're a parent? A husband? Busy at
work? You chose that life.
Don't blame others or your environment. The spoiled life is
a poor life. But let us not make excuses. Remember. Fat is fat. Weak is weak. And strong is strong. You choose what you become through the work you do.
„What you are thinking, what shape your mind is in, is what
makes the biggest difference of all“.
The biggest and most complex obstacle you’ll ever have to
overcome is your mind. If you can
overcome that, you can overcome anything!
Here are some key things I reflect on regularly to support
my practice of nurturing a more mindful, motivated mindset…
It’s not the weight that breaks you down, it’s the way you
carry it. You can use pain, frustration
and inconvenience to motivate you rather than annoy you. You are in control of the way you look at
life. Beautiful things happen when you
distance yourself from negative thinking.
You always have a choice. Choose to be negative and you’ll find plenty of reasons to stop and
frown. Choose to be positive and you’ll
find plenty of reasons to step forward and smile. Truly, the most powerful weapon against
stress and discouragement is our ability to choose one thought over
another. Train your mind to see the good
in everything.
One of the most rewarding and important moments in life is
the moment you finally find the courage to let go of what you can’t
change. When you stop worrying and
complaining about what you can’t control, you have more time to change the
things you can control. And that changes
everything.
It’s never in your best interests to share lots of time with
people who constantly try to discourage you. Because, if you’re the kind of
person who believes there’s something out there for you beyond whatever it is
you’re expected to do – if you want to be extraordinary – you can’t get there
by shackling yourself to those who hold you back. Instead, you will very likely become just as
ordinary as they expect you to be. And
there’s absolutely no reason to do that to yourself.
Long-term success in life is a result of ability,
motivation, and attitude. Ability is
what you’re capable of doing every day. Motivation determines what you actually do every day. And attitude determines how well you
ultimately do it. Keep this in mind.
Sitting around worrying is a misuse of your incredible
creative energy. Instead of imagining
the worst, imagine the best and how you can bring it about.
It’s always better to be exhausted from meaningful work than
to be tired of doing nothing. Put in the effort and live the life you’ve
imagined. Wake up and remind yourself that you are what you do today, not what
you say you’ll do someday. Good things
don’t come to those who wait – they come to those who work on meaningful goals. When all is said and done, oftentimes more is said than done. But it doesn’t
have to be this way. The way to get going, and feel good about it, is to quit
talking and begin doing.
Imagine how much more effective and happy you’d be if,
instead of dreading and fighting against certain tasks, you simply got them
done. Remember, the task ahead of you is never greater than the strength within
you. Do what’s right, not what’s easy. And when the task is a big one, do just a little bit of it every
day. Even the tiniest daily ritual
changes everything in the long run.
Effort is never wasted, even when it leads to disappointing
results. For it always makes you
stronger, more educated, and more experienced. So when the going gets tough, be patient and keep going. Just because you are struggling does not mean
you are failing. Every great success requires some kind of struggle to get
there.
The next step is always worth taking. Seriously, no matter what happens, no matter
how far you seem to be away from where you want to be, never stop believing
that you will make it. Have an
unrelenting belief that things will work out, that the long road has a purpose,
that the things you desire may not happen today, but they will happen. Practice patience. And remember that patience is not about
waiting – it’s the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard to make
progress every day, and knowing that this journey is worth it.
