Today I found myself in an intense group fitness workout
(total understatement). It was a HIIT (high intensity interval training) class
that lasts 60 miserable minutes. It’s called “Chisel” for a reason. I hate it.
It is taught by none other, than my mother. She is mean. I don’t like her a
whole lot during those 60 minutes. But I see nothing but results from the 2
hours of hell she puts me through each week.
There are so many times during that workout that my mind
tells me to quit. It tells me not to do all 10 burpees, to just do 8 or 9.
That’s plenty, right? Probably. But what’s the real goal? To do “enough” or to
do whatever it takes to get better? My mind is screaming at me to not go very
deep on my squats or to not jump very high on our squat-reaches. It would be
easy to do that. Everyone would understand. But I would only be cheating
myself. Stopping short on the little things gives you the ability to stop short
on the big things in life. To workout 3 days a week instead of 4. Then 2
instead of 3. This becomes a theme in your life. You always give yourself
permission to not quite finish what you started. When I set the timer to write
for an hour, the last 5 minutes are always the hardest to stay in the chair. I
want to get up and leave so bad, but that would be “stopping short”. No one would
even know, except me. That’s not the type of person I am striving to be.
I find the mental growth that occurs from a tough workout,
much more rewarding than the physical gains. It is always a constant battle
between you and your mind. Your mind always wants you to take the easy way out.
It’s human nature - procrastination and laziness are hard-wired into our brains.
You have to work every day to develop a mental toughness that will not allow to
quit. That will not allow you to stop short of finishing something that you
started.
We can constantly develop our mental toughness through
repeated practice. Listen hard to what your mind is telling you during a
workout. Most of the time it is saying “stop”,
“you’re in too much pain”, or “you have done enough to this point”.
All of this negative self-talk can be overcome if you choose to ignore it and
fight through it. You will emerge stronger if you just tell yourself things
like “yes I can” and “I won’t quit now”. Your mind always
wants to give out before your body. Remember that. You can always push yourself
a little bit harder. That’s what I love about sports. Your mind is the
command-center for your body. You can control your thoughts. You can always dig
a little deeper, get a little stronger, run a little harder, write a little
longer, and be a little better.
I have only had my body give out 2 or 3 times and you know
what? I was fine. Nothing bad happened. I just found out where my current limitations
were. I reached it once on a timed 300-yard shuttle as a college freshman in a
baseball workout. This is basically the worst run you can imagine. It is 5
consecutive 60-yard dashes with no break between. You accelerate, then
decelerate, change directions and repeat way too many times. The last leg is
the worst. As soon as you plant and touch the line with the last 60 yards to go,
your legs feel like Jello. You still have 60 yards to sprint and your whole
body is screaming at you to stop. So at 6:00am one morning in the gym at my
college, the first time I ever ran this timed race, I stepped up to the line.
The whistle blew and I took off. As hard as I could. This run was different for
me than anyone else. I started stumbling with about 20 yards to go and wasn’t
sure if I was going to make it to the finish line. I ended up face-planted just
past the finish line. I am not exaggerating when I say that my face actually
hit the ground when I was running at full speed. My legs had collapsed on me. Physically,
I had given that race my all. Everything I had in the tank. I posted the best time
on the team. Prior to the run, the older guys on the team had told me to “make sure you save some energy. If you go
all-out you won’t be able to finish.” I wanted to disprove their advice. I
told them I wasn’t going to save anything. If I collapsed before the finish
line, I would know my limit. I barely made it, but it made me realize that as
painful as that experience was, I finished. I tested my body to the absolute
limit. More importantly I defeated my mind telling me to slow down a bit the
whole run. The next time we ran the timed 300-yard shuttle, I gave it my all
again, the sole of my shoe actually tore off on the last leg, I didn’t collapse
and I had shaved over 2 full seconds off of my previous time. I had broken
through another personal barrier of mine.
You always have a little more in the tank than you think.
Your mind will limit your physical and mental capacity if you allow it to. You
can always find the energy to push a little harder; either that, or you will
collapse in victory knowing that you gave it your all. You will be stronger the
next time. You will break through a barrier. Breaking a physical barrier for
yourself and creating another opportunity raises the ceiling for yourself. The
same is true in everything we do in life. We can push ourselves to new levels
and we will never be able to return to our original state. You really know how
far you go until you push the envelope. There is greatness in all of us. There
is so much untapped potential that most of us never realize, because we never
get past the mental barriers. We never get past the little voice in our head
telling us that we “should stop.” We
never really allow our face to hit the ground in total exhaustion. Let’s test
ourselves. Let’s find where our real limits are. I guarantee they will surprise
you.
What mental barriers do you have that are getting in your
way at the moment? Are they weight-loss limitations? Are they business related?
Whatever they are, how can we knock the door down and get you to the other
side? What more can you do to prevent yourself from stopping short of your own
personal greatness?
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