Do your reps
Training and doing the right things is easy when the sun is shining, and you’re motivated. But a positive mindset and momentum can be hard to sustain when life throws a wrench into the machinery of your daily structures.
Hardship can manifest itself in many forms—loss of friends, family, loved ones, financial difficulties, injuries, health issues, and the list goes on. There’s no shortage of things that can go wrong in life. This is so true that it’s one of the foundational axioms in science—the second law of thermodynamics states that entropy will increase as time goes by. What this means in plain English is that things fall apart. There are so many ways stuff can fall apart and so few ways to keep things intact.
So, what does this mean for you? Well, it means that it’s hard to keep things together. This applies to everything in life. This applies to your health, keeping your apartment clean, getting better at your job, or being a good parent or partner. Most of us are very average at best—we know that this is contrary to what our culture is telling us these days. We’re constantly told that we’re special – we just need to be found. This is true when it comes to the value of each of us as individuals, but it's very far from the truth when it comes to skill acquisition or any other role/task you have in life. Remember there’s a good chance that you’re as average as we are. Which means you need to make an effort for the things around you to not fall apart.
So, “this is getting a bit depressing” you might think. Well, that is true, but it’s also a bit liberating. You can’t avoid the hardships of life, but you can work strategically and diligently to maintain the status quo and start moving towards a better place. So, what can you do, if you’re unmotivated and left in a bit of a rough spot? This ties back to last week’s article, concerning Lennart’s torn Achilles, and the disruption that has inflicted on his day-to-day life and daily routine. You need to assess your situation and carve a path forward.
We can break this up into three steps, which are as follows:
Assess your situation and find out what you can do, that you’re willing to do.
Find out where you want to go, and how you want to get there – make a strategy!
Do the reps! Make a plan that works for you and do the reps–remember consistency is key.
Lastly, remember that you’re very average and you need to apply yourself to amount to anything. The three steps above don’t make any difference if you don’t work daily to better yourself. Life and the structures around us are fragile, and it takes great effort to keep everything healthy, strong, and intact.
So, don’t be too hard on yourself, assess your situation, make a strategy, and do the reps.
Until next time
Scott and Lennart