Back in college, I would always wait until the last possible hour to study and do homework.
WHY?
You would think after I got kicked out of my first college I would have learned.
The irony was that by procrastinating I gave myself no choice but to get it done at the last minute. The pressure was on and I had to deliver.
Usually I did.
What I learned from this was that I needed a sense of urgency to take action.
If a teacher gave an assignment that wasn’t due for a month, I would never start until it was almost due.
I’m sure there was another way that was less-stressful but the last minute method got the job done.
How does this relate to you?
You may be holding off on that big goal of yours because you don’t have any real reason to get started yet.
A big fitness goal requires a different mindset and approach than just getting in some exercise here and there.
You NEED urgency.
A deadline.
A big reason so many people have success with obstacle course races, mud runs, marathons, triathlons, competitions is that there is a sense of urgency.
With competition you have no choice but to take your training to another level.
What about those of us who don’t wish to compete against others but purely against ourselves?
You need urgency just as much, if not more. Only the approach is different.
We go along in our daily lives most of it by routine and habits.
These routines and habits can serve our needs and desires or they can hold us back.
ALL of these habits/routines CAN be changed.
It takes times, naturally, but it IS POSSIBLE.
For you to find urgency in your training program you need to think about your life in a different way.
Instead of going along day by day just trying to get through the week, you start to think of life as a gift. Tomorrow is NEVER guaranteed.
My dad went to bed one Easter night and never woke up.
He wasn’t ill and had no signs of danger.
Life is not guaranteed.
We need more urgency.
Especially with our health and fitness.
How do we accomplish the task of living and training with more urgency?
It starts with your mindset. You have to truly believe in the power of strength training and fitness in general.
Get your mind on track and then start with a big goal you think is possible but you aren’t quite sure..it makes you nervous..
Pick a day you are going to start.
This creates urgency to begin.
Next, choose a deadline.
When do you want to achieve this goal by? Write it down.
If being held accountable works for you, tell a friend or your significant other or your coach if you have one.
This makes the goal even more REAL because now it’s “out there” in the world.
Lastly, don’t get crazy if you don’t meet the goal. The point of this exercise is not the end-goal so much as it is to get your focused and training with PURPOSE and URGENCY.
Too often I see guys just going through the motions and never making progress. Sure, you will have days that you don’t have “it” and you just get the workout done, even if it’s not the best performance.
No one feels 100% every day or even more often than not. In my experience, most people feel great maybe a few days a month and that’s it.
Just accept that you won’t always have great motivation and your body will sometimes feel run-down.
Nothing can stop you though.
You have a goal, a plan and some urgency.
Get after it!
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Speaking of urgency- My new program LEVEL-UP 45 has just launched and is on sale right now but only until Sunday.
This is the urgency I mentioned earlier. I want you to take advantage and get to work NOW. Don’t put it off any longer. Like I said, tomorrow is never guaranteed. If you want to improve your life then NOW is the time.
Here’s the link for the program- get it now- LEVEL-UP 45