If you asked my wife, she would say I am always creating hardship for myself.
One idea after another, always a new project before the finalization of the one prior to.
I don’t necessarily think it is a bad thing, although her opinion is certainly warranted given the number of messes she has had to help me dig out from.
Or perhaps I AM a glutton for punishment… but maybe I just don’t see life’s challenges as punishments at all.
I certainly got to where I am today, because of the choices I made yesterday. I will be where I am tomorrow because of the decisions I make today.
I suppose I could think a bit more before I decide to move in a certain direction.
I decided to attend Navy SEAL training in a single afternoon… while sitting on a lawn mower day dreaming about “guy” stuff- sports, cars, guns etc.
I hopped off, went and jumped on the internet to look at rifles, and found myself getting a response email from a recruiter and, shortly thereafter, on my way to bootcamp.
It isn’t that I can’t stick with things though- I have been active duty for 15 years now and I was an avid wrestler and wide receiver for the 15 years prior to that.
But perhaps I do have a bit of a bias… or as Leonardo Da Vinci said, “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”
Yes that’s it… I just have an action bias!
I am a do-er. And a lot of good has come from the act of doing.
I get way more thrill from the action steps of a journey than I do from seeing some sort of final resolution.
It works out great when you see everything as inextricably links in the chain of a lifetime… but might leave a bit to be desired when it comes to projects around the house (I promise I will get around to fixing those stairs someday Starr!)
You are probably more like me than you know too. You are probably thinking right now “I love finishing stuff… how can you not care about being done?”
Well, being done is GREAT… but fleeting and less than permanent in all cases besides DEATH!
To illustrate my point in slightly less morbid manner- think of a time five or ten years ago when you had a goal. Perhaps it was graduating. Perhaps you wanted to save some money. Even better, perhaps it was just to get your house clean or the yard mowed.
These are all ABSOLUTELY valid and goals with measurable end states; until you reach that point. What happens when you get to the final point when you achieve one of these?
THE GOAL MOVES!
You graduate and have to find a job, you set your sites on saving more, the grass regrows, and the house gets dirty yet again (especially with our kids)!
Does this mean you FAILED? I would argue the opposite.
Our goals serve as great guides to help shape where we apply our efforts, but they are relatively bad with regards to determining the effectiveness of our plan.
In fact, I would say that when you learn and grow along the process, it creates the greatest of success.
So how does this mindset apply when it comes to fitness?
It comes down to two things.
First, it allows us to be happy about our journey no matter the outcome of any individual workout, season, or competition. We can revel in the fact that we gave an effort without getting lost in the results or the outcome.
And second, it allows us to carry forward lessons learned, even from our “failures”, since we no longer have to focus solely on an outcome as a metric of success.
The struggle we encounter while doing have a direct effect on our character moving forward to other task.
Olympic Gold Medalist Soccer star Julie Foudy said it best- “Sports build good habits, confidence, and discipline. They make players into community leaders and teach them how to strive for a goal, handle mistakes, and cherish growth opportunities.”
I “do” a lot of things, and it has served me well.
I encourage you to do the same.
Take that first step, and enjoy the process of working your way towards a goal… and remember that it is OK for your goals to change.
Take action. Make movement. Create change.
Need help figuring out the first step? Schedule a free "No-Sweat" Consult HERE, and we will sit down and develop your personalized Fitness Action Plan together!