Life doesn’t stop until you’re dead. So why waste your time waiting for a specific time or date to start making your life better. I’m empathetic to the idea of it — I get it. People like the idea of starting ‘New Year -Fresh Start”’ with the clock ticking over to another year. A New Year’s Resolution is something you ‘start’ on the first day of the year, and when you drop the ball for a moment (like skip the gym or sleep in one morning or whatever) you tend to think, that’s it, I’ve failed. And you stop. Everything is a process; do it all the time. Without a definitive start, you lose the option to stop. So when you drop the ball, you pick it back up and keep going, no matter what day of the year it is.
In the thousands of hours spent I’ve spent training or training others, a common theme pops up quite often: taking the easy way out to avoid discomfort. I’m not going to lie but I find myself guilty of this at times, I’m too sore, too tired, it’s too cold, blah, blah, blah and so on. I’m a huge proponent of quality over quantity, so the message here isn’t GO HARD ALL THE TIME. It’s about having the discipline to do it even though you do not want to.
You have to believe in yourself. Do not be scared of adding weight to the bar, jumping higher because you’re uncertain of the outcome. Do not quit in anticipation of the difficult condition to come and the possibility of failing in front of others. That mindset will never lead to physical or psychological growth. Decide to keep going with confidence that you can do more than you think you can, despite the pain and fatigue that you will inevitably face. When in reality, everyone is capable of enduring infinitely more. It’s about forcing yourself to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. It’s knowing that because of these tough moments, the next one will be a little easier to get through.
Change is a slow, laborious process that starts with a simple answer to a loaded question. Are you willing to let go of your current lifestyle? Because if you’re looking to change then Taco Tuesday’s and binge drinking Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays are not going to cut it. Change implies a measure of finality and perpetuity. In other words, you’re in it for life. So cut the bullshit and ask yourself if you have what it takes to make the lifestyle shifts necessary to create the change you say you desire. If you do, great. Come and get it done. If you’re not, then have the guts to admit it and move on. We’ll be here when you are ready.
Ruben Belliard
Founder/ CEO
The Training Lab NYC
