So much of what holds us back is inside of us. It is us that is the problem. We think, we think of what can go wrong, we plan, we doubt our plan and then we hold back. We test the water, rather than dive straight in.
I've been very guilty of this in the past, and is something I've worked through since the start of this year (as you can see by the blogging.
This is one of those pieces about getting in the right head space. Switching on and committing to your goal. It doesn't matter what that goal is. It's about committing to acting upon it.
This is the real difference between success and failure. I may have mentioned this before but one of my all time favourite movies is The Karate Kid. Mr Miyagi says it best. 'Karate do yes, is safe, karate do no is safe, karate do maybe... squish like grape'. Commit to doing, or not doing, a thing... if you go into it half hearted you will get monstered. I've learned that this is especially true when taking on big challenges. It's not how fast you get there, it's about constant progressive action until you do.
It is true in work, as much as it is in sport. When I used to train and play rugby, practice sessions had to be with full commitment in the contact. If not, you'd risk getting hurt. Same at work. Go into a project half hearted and you could guarantee there would be challenges..
I'm a fan of the SAS challenges on TV where you have a bunch of everyday people want to experience some of what the special forces do in order to be selected. It's fascinating and predictable. Time and again it is not the strongest of body who endures. It is always the strongest of mind and character. That ability to commit and push until they simply can't. To take the screaming, the abuse, the pain, the discomfort. To conquer the stories they've told themselves that have led to them holding themsleves back from what was possible. They commit. If they fail through an injury, they go with their head held high knowing they didn't give up. They just got taken out by something they couldn't really control (or they weren't ready for). Those that leave just because it was getting hard, leave quietly. The real secret is stop thinking and start doing.
A big part of this is getting out of your head and into motion. So many people go off too fast and fall out before they even get there. Others spend too long thinking about what they aren't doing, or what they should do yet fail to take the actions to move forward. Challenges like an ultra marathon, marathon, etc require progress over time that builds. You build the good habits. The foundations and then you add to that.
You clean up your diet. You slowly up your mileage. You look at stretching and recovery., and so on. You add bit by bit, little by little. But you commit to see it through.
Things can and do go wrong. I should know. I've failed many times. But you can't account for things you don't know. The best you can do is to learn what the risks are and look at how you mitigate them effectively. There will always be variables you can't predict. You just need to make sure your commitment to putting in the work isn't one of them. Failing, knowing it was your own lack of commitment is not a good feeling.
I've talked about having the right 'why' to anchor yourself with. The reason that is really behind taking a challenge on. If you get that right, and it means something real to you, then you will find it easier to commit to.
Most people don't take on these types of challenges to really push themselves further, not because they can't (I'm living proof you can), but because they won't. It takes commitment and most people won't commit to the discomfort. They seek and settle for the comfort. And that's OK, but for some of us that's not enough. I'm one of those people who wants to see what's possible. I want to push myself and see where I can get to. For me that's living. If I settle for comfort in every area of my life then I'm saying I'm done. I've no more I want to give, That's not me. In truth that's not most people. It's really the fear that gets in the way of commitment to pushing ourselves.
What if I fail? What if I look stupid? What if it hurts? What if I have an accident? What if I don't win? What if someone is better than me?... what if I'm not good enough?... All common fears. Our doubts and fears getting in our way of doing remarkable things. The reality is you are good as you commit to being. It's not the outcome but the action that matters. That's what you can control. What you put into a goal. Control the input and the outcome will take care of itself. We miss 100% of the shots we don't take, so start shooting. When you push forward and commit to improve at anything, after a while you look back and get to see how far you've really gone. And that makes the doubt, the discomfort, the solitude, and the effort worth it.
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