“Don’t worry about what you can’t do, just get the work done for what you can! Age doesn’t matter. How the day went doesn’t matter. Who else is in the gym doesn’t matter. Physically starting out feeling lousy, it doesn’t matter. Just do what you can.” These are all wise words spoken from my day one client when I started off in this career. She hit the nail on the head with this one and helped inspire this post.
Sometimes in life we get caught up on all the shit we can’t do. We get caught up in all the excuses as to why we can’t do something and we just let it pile up and spill over everywhere. Focusing on the can’t can be super depressing and demotivating. There are plenty of days where I am tired or don’t feel like doing much of anything. In those instances, I’ve done nothing at all and just sat in my sunken stoop of dismay. However, this is not an every time thing. Most days the mentality that I have is to at least do something. Ok, I don't feel creative and don't think I can write a blog post, so I at least write something. However crappy it is, I don’t care, I just write. Some days I don’t feel like working out so I at least move, maybe do some mobility work or some light pushups and pullups. Any little win you can strike on the board is a plus. It is always better than doing nothing.
In the kettlebell world when someone's swing looks a little dusty we break it back down to the simplest form of the movement, the deadlift. In life applying this same principle of doing the simplest form is often the best option for building new habits. It is also a lot better than doing nothing. Obstacles in your life have one job, to try to deter you from a certain path or objective. However, if your destination is still X, you can’t let any excuse get in your way, you just have to work around it. So, you might not feel like doing whatever it is that you have to do that day, but life doesn’t care. It still needs to get done.
Worrying about what someone else is doing in the gym or elsewhere, such as how much money they make or whatever it may be, usually never helps you achieve what you want. What they do is completely unrelated to what you do. Every single person on this planet has a different and unique story that only they know every intricacy of. Until you become that person, which you can’t and you won’t, you should probably stop comparing yourself to them. Only time to think about what someone else has or is doing is for inspiration, not envy. Envy will oftentimes lead to a bad place. Whether it’s self-hate, self-doubt, greed, etc. Stay in your lane, mind your business, and take whatever steps that are needed to get you to where YOU want to be.
Remember, thinking you deserve something or trying to cut corners to accomplish your goals won’t get you there. You must put in the work necessary, make the necessary sacrifices, and just stop being a little b**** if you really want to get to where you picture yourself being. This means you still need to do something that leads you to your goals even on the days that you feel shitty, or when the swole gym rat is at the gym the same time as you, or if you had a bloody awful day. Don’t let any of those things distract you if you want to accomplish YOUR goals. Remember, you only live once, thats the motto so give each day the best effort. This is the true Power of Strength, being strong enough to put in work even when you don’t want to.
“This is our life it’s all that we get. The days are all numbered and the nights are all spent ”