You know it profits a man nothing to gain the whole world, Rich, but Wales?
-Thomas Moore, A Man For All Seasons
You know you want something more, but the cost might seem too daunting.
It might be related to your health and be along the lines of fat loss or gaining a few pounds of muscle. It might be in your relationships and getting out more with friends, or being a better better half. It might be in your finances and taking your career to the next level or simply managing your money better.
Whatever it is, there might be something holding you back, and before you make much in the way of forward progress you have to figure out what that is, determine if it’s a real factor (address it if it is) or set it aside. (If it isn’t)
Dax Moy calls that “releasing the brakes”.
As a new business owner and longtime trainer I’ve had my own set of brakes, whether that’s fear of long hours and not being able to connect with friends, fear of having to act like someone I’m not (IE Coachy/Grunty/Dude/Snobby-only-hang-out-with-a-select-few-successful-people/etc.), and those fears have held me back. They’ve served as internal resistance and have kept me (almost as a protective mechanism) from moving towards something that I’m not 100% sure that I want.
I want to run a great business and help people. I also want to be true to myself and stay true to my values and principles. Otherwise it would be like living off credit cards. Sooner or later, the bill comes due. I want this to be sustainable and something that can grow and evolve over time along with me. I have no desire to be a cautionary tale.
And we’ve all seen it. The super fit person who quits one day. The successful business person who makes an almost intentionally stupid mistake and wrecks their career, or they simply can’t do it anymore and walk away. We see those stories unfold and use them as a bit of cold comfort while we might be feeling a bit stuck. But I would rather look at all the factors and decide for myself if in fact, that it really does comes down to some Faustian bargain, or if there isn’t a better way to move forward where I can remain true to myself. I know there’s still a price of effort and intentionality, but I want to know whether or not it’s unreasonable.
So rather than listing 10 seemingly impossible things that I should be doing this coming week, I’m assessing what’s been working, where I have room to grow, where I need to set limits, and what would true success actually look like.
Let’s bring this back to fitness.
You don’t have to do endless hours of cardio to “build a base/burn off the love handles/whatever” before you can do the more effective work of total body strength and interval training.
You don’t have to live on carrots and rice cakes.
You can actually get it done in about 30 to 45 minutes a day.
You don’t have to have sore muscles every day for the rest of your life in order to look really good.
You don’t have to be a “Globo-Gym Type Person” in order to get great results.
Consider all the reasons you do or don’t want to move forward, release the brakes, then put in the effort.
Best,
Charlie