April 19, 2018
How Do I Make It Easy?
How Do I Make It Easy?
I love this question, as it comes up often and in many forms:
When does it get easier?
Why is it so hard for me?
When will I be more like (insert name here)?
What is something I can do to get ahead?* Rarely asked for the right reasons
Where will I be in 8 weeks?
A Client asked me this Week (the reason for this article), “When He Would Be Back?”
He was exactly 42 minutes into his 1st Training session in 20 months.
He was coming off of 2 Knee Surgeries, 22lbs of extra Weight (and AT LEAST that in “Lost” Muscle), and a long-term Pity Party regarding his own Self-Worth.
My Answer: (Insert Name Here) Do you have Kids?
Client: “You Know I Do”
Me: “Do you ever take Long Car Trips with them”
Client: “With Hockey, all the time. We just went to Lake Placid.”
Me: “How Do you answer them when you are 11 minutes into that Trip and they ask:
Are We There Yet? How Long will it take?”
Client: “Point taken. Let’s get back to Work”
This is a wonderful part of our field, Strength + Conditioning, and of the bigger picture: Health. People want to get “There”, fast. Really fast. Inexplicably fast.
I understand, and can empathize with that.
Many of us don’t like “Here”, so getting “There” is Desirable, Exciting and Offers New Possibilities.
It’s why people Start Exercising, Get Organized, Go Back to School, Get Makeovers, etc.
The Future is often much more stimulating than the “Now”.
Just. One. Small. Problem.
This is where we are. The same “Like” for the Future is typically fueled by a disdain for the Present.
I don’t “Like”: my Body, my Look, my Ability, my Energy, my Life, etc…
We realize these feelings are “real”, whether helpful or detrimental, and we want something else. Something Better…
So We Start. We Exercise, Eat Better, Try Harder and Care More…
And then we realize something else.
It’s not easy. It takes Time. It takes Effort. It takes Consistency. It takes…
It takes more than we thought to get “There.”
So we ask the question. It is a simple question, with a Loaded Response and an Answer that Changes as You Do: “When Do I Get There?”
It has been said many times, and until you go through it, it is very tough to understand what “The Process” exactly is.
“Life is about the Journey” is a terrific Mantra when Life is going great.
When the Journey gets Rough, not everyone Stays and Fights.
“Fight or Flight” is real, and both are Valid for Survival, and Happiness.
We all pick our Battles, deciding which ones Require our Energy and which ones are avoided, forgotten, or left behind.
This Battle, however, for the “Better You”, is one you have to stand your ground.
You have to Work for Your Improvement, although you may Enjoy it.
You have to Work to Change your body, although you may Benefit from it.
You have to Work to Feel Better, although you may Live Longer as a result.
You have to Work to think Positively about your Journey, although you may be Happier.
You may have to Work the Rest of your Life, although you may never View It as Work again…
The Next Time this Question, in any form, comes into your mind, think about how you will Answer it. Because it’s YOU that will provide the Answer, and the Outcome…
Hopefully, we will be right there with you, providing Guidance, Opportunity, and Structure during your Journey. Let’s get Better, and Let’s Do It Now Baby!
Walter Norton Jr
