Hi, Portland Boot Camp VIPs,
My Dad used to get me so mad.
Whatever it was, I would say, “I don’t want to.” And he would say, “You don’t have to want to.”
I was just sitting here remembering that and it occurred to me…
…99 out of 100 people don’t realize — or are unwilling to accept — what it really takes to achieve a fitness goal. Or any worthy goal for that matter.
The reality is, any goal has very specific steps and tasks that must be taken and completed. These tasks are not “maybe tomorrow” or “when I feel like it” tasks. Instead, they are tasks which absolutely must be done — no matter how you feel about them.
Like a child at bath time, you don’t have to feel like it. You don’t have to want to . You simply must.
No matter how you feel about the specific, necessary steps to reach your goal… know that by taking the steps, by completing the tasks, even when you don’t feel like it at all, you will eventually reach to your goal.
Lock step.
Think about that…
… the next time you are faced with eating a mind and body sustaining meal, or avoiding the meal and opting for junk because you “feel like it”.
Or when you don’t really “feel” like coming into boot camp and doing the work.
Or when planning your meals seems like “too much work”.
It IS work.
It DOES take time.
It IS tedious sometimes. But choosing not to do it just because you don’t feel like it in the moment is disservice to yourself.
Avoidance of what needs to be done is rooted in the subconscious thought, “I don’t enjoy doing this particular taks, so doing it is incorrect.”.
Not so.
We often get exactly what we want by doing what we don’t feel like doing.
The results are worth it folks.
Ask yourself…
Is there some form of self-ravaging I am engaging in which is hampering my results or slowing down my performance?
Am I doing anything which is aging me faster?
What areas of my fitness lifestyle need attention and tweaking? Food? Boot Camp attendance? Sleep? Water intake? Foam rolling? Stretching? Vitamins?
Take a moment to take stock and figure out the real score.
Be brutally honest with yourself and then take action doing exactly what you don’t feel like doing.
I promise, with each action you complete that you don’t feel like doing…but which brings you greater health and closer to a goal…you will grow in self-esteem and feel a supreme sense of accomplishment and earned pride.
And it all gets easier.
Before you know it, you have new goals which were invisible and psychologically untenable to you before. But now become worthy challenges which you embrace willingly.
And then – quite suddenly — you WANT to!
Go for it.
Cheers,
D
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10 Comments
If someone would have told me 10 months ago that my goal would be an 8 minute mile…I would have laughed at them…I even ran marathons…and never seemed to achieve less than an 11 minute mile…but lo and behold today…I clocked in at 8:37….down from 11:03 in Nov. 2009. It has taken a lot of tweaking…changing what I eat, how I sleep, and believe me…much less alcohol. But, today, as I stood at work in my SIZE SMALL t-shirt, which seemed impossible to put on the first month of Bootcamp, and talked with work associates…the things I talked about were not weight loss (though I have had lots of that)–I talked about flexibility, no knee pain, and ability to run from the hips. Mind change and body change…that is what you can anticipate…but it takes time…and lots of patience. There really is no exercise to build that up:-) It has to come from your desire to be healthy and happy!
Well, Julie you certainly have worked for it. It’s interesting to be in a slightly “outside and elevated” position where I’m able to see and believe in what boot campers can do… even before they can. So thanks for believing in me and the process.
You totally rock and ran like a super champ for that 8:37. Super fast. You hit the nail on the head with the word “patience” though. It does take time… you do have to realize it will take some “undoing” and rebuilding to get there. Nice post. Thanks!
D, it sounds like your dad and my dad would be great friends! That saying was one I heard a lot growing up. I also had a difficult time comparing myself to other people, for better or for worse. Example: “She was doing it, so I thought I could do it too.” You can see the downfall in this statement. My dad’s reply? “I don’t care what he/she/they were doing, I only care what YOU are doing!” Although I hated hearing it at the time, this statement really helped to push me, make me the best that I could be, without artificial parameters or guidelines. I learned that studying hard leads to good grades, even if the rest of the class didn’t care. I learned that practicing hard and competing fiercely leads to be a better player and athlete, regardless of how hard my teammates practiced. I learned how to say “No” to drinking or drugs, even when it was the super un-cool thing to do. This attitude has made all the difference in my life. It’s not always easy and I constantly have to remind myself to be vigilant about it, but it is always, always worth it. Thanks for the reminders D, and thanks for the great work out today!
I can see why you are such an achiever in Portland Boot Camp then. You are right. It is NOT always easy to be vigilant. Especially in the face of social pressure. When I finally released myself from social pressure by giving myself permission to just be different, to stand out… to shine… it all fell away. The only battle left is my own battle with self-control. But the cool thing is… every time you practice discipline, thought, and then control… your grow stronger. Thanks, Lauren!
Such a great post Daniel. I’ve really been working hard on this exact thing for the past two weeks. There have been so many days that I didn’t really ‘want’ to go to the gym on my lunch, or that I wanted to get home right away to see my fiance. But will those things get me to my goals? Of course not. But despite what I ‘wanted’ to do, each time I was in this state I made myself change into my gym clothes and I steered my car to the gym. Once I’m there of course I’m into it! It’s just getting past that thought of, “I could do something else for my lunch today” and instead continuing to steer my car to the gym. No detours, no passing go. Just get there and push past the mental block!
So true. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve said, “I don’t feel like it today.” But then did it anyway. ALWAYS after I finish I am SO glad I did it and feel fantastic for it. We have to remember that it always works like that. Way to go, Kendra.
Cheers! with another big glass of water (which I was too busy to drink earlier today) and thanks for the reminder it was exactly what I needed to hear to keep me out of the freezer ( Ed has some kind of chocolate,chunky,vanilla and brownie goo ice cream in there….I don’t even like ice cream)
See you in the am!
Right back at ya with a big glass of water, Deb! Way to go today. I don’t eat sugar at all so that ice-cream isn’t tempting. But I’ll tell you… a nice filet mignon… now that can get me hungry!
Dang, I should have read this BEFORE I polished off that leftover plum sorbet (which of course I was only getting rid of so that I could completely clean the house of any temptations ……..) This is inspirational and I will reread later to help myself keep on track. Thanks!
Hey, Amy… I bet you loved it. It does sound good. Although I don’t eat sugar. But still.. mmmm. Well, a little sorbet never killed anyone. But it’s wise to have it out of sight for a bit while you work on goals if you find it to be a net negative for you. Smart move. Keep rockin!