9 Major Keys of Strength
Strength is not an overnight journey, but rather, a lifelong adventure. Do I currently think I am strong? Uh, yeah, I do. But, that does not mean I am done. It is not a destination you arrive to where you just set up shop and say you've made it. If I stop trying to get better, I can easily lose my strength both physically and mentally. Strength can diminish if you become complacent and fail to help others once you've discovered its power. If you are wondering what it takes to be strong, look no further. Shout out DJ Khaled.
1. CONSISTENCY
Consistency. That's the Magic. Everyone wants to know, “How do I become strong like bull?” Consistency. 3/52 is the magic-fricken-number. If you can consistently follow a program for 3 days a week for 52 weeks, aka 1 year, you will see results like you've never seen before. I guarantee it. You will be stronger than you've ever been. Your confidence will just be gleaming. Put in work consistently and you will be strong.
2. DISCIPLINE
Discipline. When it comes to Nike’s slogan, it is spot on. Just do it! Rely on discipline to get you through the tasks that come your way. Trying to rely solely on motivation is tricky. The simplest of distractions can trigger you to quickly become unmotivated. Just do it because you know all of the benefits. You’ll see the benefits once you push yourself in times when you don't feel like it. This is what will make you Strong. That's discipline. The more you practice being disciplined the stronger the skill gets. Don’t worry if it's not perfect right away, we are never trying to be perfect, just trying to be better. So, just do it!
3. PREPARATION
Major key alerrrrt. If you want to be great at something, you must prepare. Preparation is a major key. It’s either you prepare to succeed or prepare to fail. If you want to lose weight, what must you do? Prepare mofos. There are a lot of obstacles that come with wanting to lose weight. If you don’t prepare to tackle those obstacles before you reach them, it becomes substantially harder to reach your destination. In order to prepare, you must first know what you want to accomplish. Once you have that out of the way, you must then learn what the proper steps are in order to reach that goal. Preparation is all about planning ahead and setting yourself up for success. Without preparing you are strictly limiting your chances of succeeding.
4. CHALLENGE THYSELF
Challenge thyself. If you don't challenge yourself, you won't grow. If you don't grow, you won't know. If you don't know, you won't get Stronger. If you don't get Stronger, I can speak to you no longer. So, challenge thyself. In order to become Strong, you must force the body to have to adapt to doing things it's never done before. Remember, it's not enough to just show up and do work. You gotta put in work. Doing things you've never done, and maybe thought you could never do, will show you the true Power of Strength!
5. PATIENCE
Patience. All we need is a little patience. You must be patient on your journey of Strength. If you rush, you risk becoming frustrated that you aren’t Strong yet, or worse, you end up injured. Strength is a journey that you can't arrive to unless you have undeniable patience. There will be things along the way that will try to make you give up. Without patience those things will win. Becoming Strong can’t happen overnight, but a mindset shift to being patient and implementing patience can. So, start today. Have a little patience.
6. DETERMINATION
Determination. Y'all remember when Beast Mode went beast-mode, breaking 20 tackles before scoring on the run heard around the world? That's determination. Determination is not allowing yourself to be defeated, not faltering from the plan, putting your mind to something and conquering it. If you have any setbacks on your path that's fine, don't let it deter you from becoming Strong! If you are determined, you will succeed and you won’t let yourself fail. All you need to do to become determined is to set a goal in your mind to be Strong. The rest will follow.
7. AWARENESS
Awareness. What's that you say? What does being aware have to do with becoming Strong? Haha, Grasshoppa, you have much to learn. Without awareness, we cannot realize when we need to push more or peel back a bit. Without awareness, we cannot properly move or properly think. Without awareness, we do not know how to breathe in correctly to keep the back safe once we gain a certain level of Strength. Without awareness, we eat everything in sight. Being aware and in the moment when you are at the gym, eating, and relaxing at home goes a long way towards becoming Strong. You need to be aware of what you are doing.
8. ACCOUNTABILITY
Accountability. You have to take responsibility for whatever you have or don’t have. You can’t blame candy for packing a few pounds on you, nor can you can blame another person for why you don’t have whatever job you want. Unfortunately, accountability isn’t prevalent. Constantly people are blaming everything and everyone but themselves. If you can master this, you will be Strong and things will seem to go “your way” more often. Learning to be accountable means you believe that you have the power to create change that you want to see in the world. So, go ahead, become accountable and change yourself for the better.
9. EDUCATION
You can't be strong if you don't know what you are doing. E-D-U-C-A-T-E yourself. Know what you know and know what you don't know. Those are two major keys that can't be forgotten. If you need help and guidance with something that ultimately make you better, just ask. It's not that hard to ask questions. If you can at least do that, you will learn to be Strong. Gaining the right knowledge to become strong is not rocket science. The formula is not as exact. To be Strong you just have to work toward being better than you were yesterday and believe that you are Strong! That's not all there is to it, but that's most of it. Now, for specific Strength goals, there’s plenty of information out there on how to reach them. Find it, study it, and apply it. Smash goals.