To be more than you yesterday, you must do what you didn’t do yesterday.
Einstein once remarked that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. We often get into a rut living our day-to-day habits. Eventually we reach the point where we wonder if this is all that’s meant for life. So many folks reach a mid-life crisis where we fee l lost and disconnected and meaningless and hopeless. I see many clients who lament this very tale.
I recently read a wonderful quote about Mike Tyson.
While training for his upcoming bout against Larry Holmes, an interviewer was questioning Mike while he was on his run, in the snow, at 4:30am. “Mike, why are you running at this ungodly hour?” Mike smiled and confidently replied, “Because I know my opponent is sleeping.”
It’s so easy to remain comfortable and warm in our beds. The real winners get up and get at it, even when they don’t feel like it. Especially when they don’t feel like it.
I’m not talking about running in the snow or doing your setups. It could be anything that makes you grow. Whatever pushes you as a person, stretches your belief in what you can do. We’ve all seen those TV ads where people are up late and up early, hitting the books for their college classes. They’re reading while rocking their babies, stirring their meals on the skillet, riding the train to work. At the end of each ad, we see the people celebrating their diploma, their new job, their different career. They did what they didn’t think they could do.
If you want to be more, you must do more.
Radio Show host and author Dave Ramsey tells his listeners to eliminate their debt by living on the cheap for a while. "Rice and beans, beans and rice" he says. By going through tough times, you will pay off your debt and you can keep what you earn. "Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else." I think it applies to more than debt elimination.
There is so much to learn out there in the world. So many things to do. So many paths to walk. But it is so easy to trudge along the comfy path. The familiar route. If we don’t push ourselves, we can’t possibly fail. If we stay in our lane, we will remain safe. Safe and secure – and the same. Just like yesterday. And the day before. And tomorrow, and next year. I know so many people who would rather bitch about how things are than to change the circumstances. Bitching is easy and free, and anyone can do it. Are you willing to try something difficult to achieve something exciting? Are you ready to attempt the scary to escape comfort of the familiar?
Jocko Willing, former Navy Seal and author on leadership, said,
“The test is not a complex one; when the alarm goes off, do you get up and out of bed, or do you lie there in comfort and fall back to sleep? If you have the discipline to get out of bed, you win – you pass the test. If you are mentally weak for that moment and you let that weakness keep you in bed, you fail. Though it seems small, that weakness translates to more significant decisions. But if you exercise discipline, that too translates to more substantial elements of your life.”
Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) and former 36 year member of the Navy Seals, once gave a speech that he eventually made into a book on motivation and excellence. He was speaking to a graduating class when he gave the famous “Make your bed” speech.
“If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
Each morning I get up and perform a forward bend, simply reaching to the floor. After my back has relaxed and recovered from lying asleep all night, I then squat down on my haunches. I wait until my back, hips, and legs have stretched and relaxed, and then make my bed. Depending on how late I was up the night before with homework and quizzes, I go to my garage gym for a quick workout. Usually some combination of Kettlebells, calisthenics, ropework, bag work, karate kicks and forms, or light jog. I’m not in savage shape, by any means, and some days my workouts are subpar. But I try to get it in. But this is my morning. Then I go in for a cup of tea and start my day. Some mornings I fail – I am too exhausted. That bed wins. I feel like a bitch all day. But I get my stretches in every morning even if I fail at the rest of my morning plans. Every day is a battle. Some days, I conquer. Some days, I am a bitch.
Over the years I have pushed myself to do a number of different things. Karate teacher, Tai Chi teacher, competitive powerlifter, factory worker, AS Degree in architectural design, gym manager, racquetball instructor, personal trainer, police officer. Hell, I even sold vacuum cleaners for a couple months. Well, I didn’t sell very many, lol. My latest endeavor is to finish my license in Therapeutic Massage. I’ve learned so much more about the body and how it functions, and I can more efficiently and accurately apply my other modalities in my business at Tri State Holistic Wellness. By February, I will finish my four-year program in Acupressure. Some say I push myself too hard, try to do too much, that I am compensating for some emptiness within. I say there is too much to learn in this world and I want to experience as much as I can. I can do so much, learn so much, and apply so much. I want to give all I can and get all I can from that. By doing more, I become more.
David Goggins said, “It’s so easy to be great nowadays because everyone else is weak.” This fits hand in glove with Tyson’s quote. If everyone else is sleeping, and you are up grinding it, you are victorious. If everyone else seeks familiar comfort and you choose to endure uncertain discomfort, you are becoming stronger and conquering yourself.
David Goggins also remarked, “If you want to get better, do the things that no one else wants to do. Do the things that no one else is even thinking about doing.”
I’ll be the first to agree that Goggins does things that seem impossible. He is an ultramarathon runner, and at insane times. He runs 150-mile races at a 6-minute pace – incomprehensible. He has even done 4030 pullups in 17 hours. Insane. I’ll undoubtedly never accomplish anything near those feats, but that’s not my goal or my point.
My point here today, my dear reader, is that you can do better. Right now. Because you are better, you simply haven’t discovered yourself yet. Panning for the gold nugget within you begins with establishing your own self-discipline. Your shininess will soon be revealed, and it will be amazing. You will surprise yourself. You will be amazed. It may shock you to discover what you can do when pressed.
Start tomorrow.
Start by making your bed and stretching a little bit. Then add to that a healthier breakfast choice. Put down the Pop-Tart and reach for the apple. Then add a tepid shower and slowly decrease the water temperature. There is nothing like approaching the day having already endured something as terrible as a cold shower. “Hey, I’ve made it through this, nothing can really phase me.” Few things stir the soul like accomplishing something and enduring something each day. It makes you dauntless and invincible.
Now go out there and get some, you beautiful person, you.
What are you doing while everyone else is sleeping?
Conquer.
Weeg
Joe “Weeg” Weigant is a Holistic Health Practitioner, Metaphysician, and Empowerment Coach. He combined bodywork, energy work, sound therapy, and coaching to relieve anxiety and depression. A balanced nervous and energy system increases health in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. Joe encourages his clients to drop the white flag of victimhood and pick up the banner of empowerment. He inspires people to stop riding in life’s trunk and start sitting in the driver’s seat of destiny.
Weeg sells herbal products by Nature’s Sunshine and Pure Herbs Ltd. and is a Representative for Juice Plus. Weeg teaches Karate and Tai Chi, Reiki Certification, as well as seminars and workshops in metaphysical and spiritual matters. Weeg is available for sessions at Tri State Holistic Wellness by appointment only.
Contact by text 812.568.5356, or Facebook Messenger to set an appointment.