Keep The Goal The Goal

The goal, is to keep the goal the goal.

I think I first heard this saying from Dan John and it might sound dumb at first, but it makes perfect sense if you think about it.  Do you have goals you're trying to reach?  Most of us do, and the reason we don't reach them is usually because we change our mind along the way. 

I think we change our mind becasue we are afraid of failing.  If we give it 100% of our effort and don't reach the goal we have only ourselves to blame.  That's some scary shit.  If we change the goal then we can say that we would've reached the goal if we wanted to, but we decided that something else was more important.  We probably won't reach that goal either because the goal will change again in a few weeks.  It's how we protect ourselves from failure.

The goal should be to stay consistent and keep putting in the work on the most important goal until you reach that goal.  In terms of fitness, that means don't be switching programs every week.  Don't be switching diets every week.  How can you know if something works if you don't give it a chance?

If your goal is to lose weight and become a sexy beast, then keep losing weight until you're the most in shape person you know.  Don't get 75% of the way to your goal and then decide, "Hey, I think I want to be a powerlifter now!"  Don't flake out, finish the fucking job.

Rule #1

 

 

"Take responsibility for your failures and credit others for their part in your success. If you're doing it right, you don't need to toot your own horn."
 

"Don't Mistake My Confidence For Arrogance"

Check out this video for some motivation. 

A gold mine of motivational quotes.

Struggling Today

I'm struggling today.  I won a minor victory yesterday by not stopping by my favorite pizza place for 2 for 1 pizzas.  Throughout most of the summer that was my thing every Thursday.  Damn, that pizza is so good. 

Now today I'm just kind of in a funk.  I don't have to lift today, (just calves, abs, and cardio) so the motivation is a little bit less than normal.  When I have to lift it gives me something more to focus on.  I guess I just need to focus on getting in each meal properly since that's just as, if not more, important than the lifting. 

 I also started watching Sons of Anarchy while doing my cardio a few days ago.  Badass show. 

It's All On Me

I used to think that I just needed the right diet, the right workout plan, the right coach, the right situation, the right job, blah, blah, blah.  The truth is I could've had the perfect everything and I still would've failed.  Honestly, the perfect everything is just a myth.

No matter what a person is trying to do, the circumstances will never be perfect. Quit with the rationalization and get to work because time is passing one day at a time.  Just think where you'd be if you would've started a year ago, two years ago..... ten years ago. 

Even adding on to that, I'm not even focused on the main goal.  I'm focused on the next goal, the next step, the next class, the next meal, the next workout, the next day with my family.  There is no end point in life until you die.  Until then, there's only right now.  The future is a myth, it doesn't exist.  There is only right now and good things will happen when we start living in the present. 

That's my philosophy lesson for the day.

One Journey Ends And A New One Begins

"Things may seem bad at first, but it’s only in relation to what you’re used to… once you become accustomed to something new, it’s not so bad… you might even enjoy it. If I constantly lived my life dividing thing up into “what I like” and “what I don’t like” and “what is easy” and “what is hard”, I would definitely not be living much of a life. Be careful of craving this and that, because it tends to snowball. First you want this, then you get it, then you want that, and then that, and so on. It’s better to just live your life and be happy… and not be fooled by things like this and that." - Shelby Starnes

I just competed in my first powerlifting meet last Saturday and things went great.  I will post some videos of my lifts sometime soon.  I'm most proud of my 500lb. deadlift.  I have been wanting that for a long time, but have never went over 435lbs. in the gym so I wasn't positive that I could get it.  Needless to say, it went up pretty easily and I wish I would've attempted more. 

Now I begin the journey of competing in my first bodybuilding contest in May.  I am ready this time.  I say that because I have failed three previous times, but it's only a failure if you quit and don't keep trying.  I will succeed this time because I am more mentally strong than I have been previously.  Nothing to do with the diet, cardio, and training is good or bad, it just "is."  I'm going to enjoy the journey and learn a lot about myself along the way. 

I have hired Shelby Starnes to program my diet, cardio, and training so I can be certain that I will leave no stone unturned and be in the bets possible condition for the contest.  If you read this and want to follow along, I will be posting a lot about my experience here over the next 7 months.

New Squat PR - 435 lbs.

New Squat PR.  This one felt pretty tough and I almost stalled on the way up.  Looking to get a belt and knee wraps soon so that should help.