Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we are here on earth ONCE. In that time frame, we need to cram as much life out of life as possible.
There is nothing more empowering than overcoming a fear, beating the odds, or conquering adversity. It changes you. It gives closure to anxieties and pressures. It gives you a sense of relief and feeling of victory.
In this one life, I have learned that…
Complacency is the quickest way to catastrophe.
Challenge yourself to be better. To be tougher. Be willing to put in the work. It is ALWAYS worth it in the end. We have limited time. In that limited time, do everything your heart desires. Dogged persistence and determination will get you there. Even if you fail, you will never feel as if you failed.
Moments of weakness = Teachable moments
Every time I find myself saying…
“I hate ______”, I do it IMMEDIATELY.
What you hate is usually what you NEED.
To build strength, we need the tenacity and the grit to build upon our weaknesses. Starting out weak, is sometimes the most difficult part. It always feels impossible at first when you get started.
As a child, I did not have it easy by any stretch of the imagination. All I had, was a sense of self belief and self motivation to get more out of life. I did not have the resources or all the tools. I learned one thing VERY quickly, when you have an end goal and you are going for it, there will be times in preparation where your mind might say “I don’t want to”. When you feel of hear that weakness in your conscience, do what you don’t want to, IMMEDIATELY. That is the perfect time.
Goal smasher
This may sound arrogant, but, I have conquered so many goals and feel so complete in my life that I am starting to make up random goals to accomplish.
I have NO goal bucket list. I have completed the list. So now I must create more goals to avoid complacency.
None of it was easy and I am not special or gifted. I was born with a clubbed foot, in the middle of a ghetto, beaten up daily for not fitting the demographic, and not knowing if there was a way out. I knew one thing, dogged persistence, grit, survival.Nothing could stop me, if I didn’t stop.
I changed my thinking early on
I realized that doing what was always fun or enjoyable, usually wasn’t helped me reach the unthinkable goal. Doing what Iwanted at the moment in place of what I needed, never helped me get what I wanted.
Learn to love doing the things that you hate.
Find joy within the struggle and comfort through pain.
Right now, I own a Jiu-Jitsu school and have a BUSY life, but I feel the need to prepare, train, and compete in ULTRA marathons. I am making up goals. I am making up painful ones. I still need to find out what I am made of.
Plus, if I am going to lead by example, I need to create an example. If I am going to ask others to give me their best effort, I need to know what the depths are before I ask them to “dive in”.
You will always REGRET not doing instead of doing. Try, and then try again. When you don’t want to, that is when you should. If you don’t think you can…stop thinking and start moving.
Trust me…it’s not easy, but you can.
