W.I.N. Newsletter Special - Choice Will Set You Free
Published: Fri, 11/26/10
son Jesse as it has an important message about What's Important Now
for all of us.
Be sure to check out his blog at: http://vinearts.wordpress.com
Choice will set you free
I have to drive off course for this entry and discuss the other
passion in my life...fitness.
I am constantly asked for advice on losing weight, getting bigger,
getting stronger and eating healthy. The problem is that too often
when people find out I don't have a simple or easy answer, they
almost always lose interest. Everyone is hoping I can suggest a
pill, diet, machine or exercise that will solve their problems.
When I can't give that to them, people then assume I must just have
good genetics or that I am using some supplement or steroids that
are the source of my results. People don't want the truth...because
the truth is work.
The problem is that you're not with me. You don't see me at 6 am in
the gym. You're not there when my lungs are burning, my legs are
shaking, my hands are raw, when the bile is rising in my throat.
You're not there when every fiber in my body is screaming at me, a
symphony of sweat, pain and lactic acid rising to a thunderous
crescendo. This is the moment I live for. There is no mortgage, no
job, no deadlines. I live for the peak of that crescendo. That
moment when time slows and I am completely in my head and there is
nothing but a choice. A choice to give in to the voices that tell
me to stop. The voices that tell me I'm not strong enough, not fit
enough, not good enough... that I should just quit and give up and
get out. In this moment I am alone and my only obstacles are fear
and doubt. This is gut check. Choice.
There is me...I am in my mind and there is a mirror. There is sweat
and pain and fatigue, and as I look myself in the eye I nod. I
smile. I feel a sense calm rising from the base of my being and as
it spreads that calm drowns the fear and doubt. I have made the
choice. As time quickens I am drawn back to my task. Fear, doubt
and fatigue are replaced by calm, focus and energy. My legs are
still shaking, my hands are still raw, I can still taste the bile...
but I am at peace. I have succeeded in the face of my only true
opposition, the barriers I impose on myself. I have prevailed. That
is the source of true contentment.
The more I look in the mirror and nod and make those choices the
more I feel free. The more I make that choice in the gym, the
easier it is to make that choice in the face of the other
challenges in my life.
Whether it is in a gym, the pool, on a bike, on a climbing wall or
on the ice rink, find your own challenge. Find those mirror
moments. Find choice...that choice will set you free.
Cheers,
Jesse
PS A huge thanks to Ken, Lindsay and all of the great people at
Crossfit Ramsay...you've helped me find that moment again and I am
grateful.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.winningmindtraining.com
www.warriorspiritbooks.com