Vision.
Have the right one.
Everybody has a vision of himself. From successful businessman to roadside beggar, we all see
ourselves in a certain light, on a path towards something greater. It fuels our preparation, motivates our
effort, and sustains our will to succeed. Whether or not we manifest success depends on 2 things. First, we must craft a vision that is
in keeping with the laws of the real world and the instincts we were born with. Envisioning yourself as something you
are fundamentally not will get you nowhere. Second, we have to act according to our vision and deliver
when necessary. The guy you see
peddling change at the corner probably didn’t envision himself begging for food
when he was in high school, but a series of events led him to his new reality
because he was unable to act against them.
There is no difference when it comes to fitness: the first
step in achieving anything of value is having a realistic vision of what you
want to become. Now, ordinarily I
am pretty open-minded when it comes to goals and aspirations—what an individual
deems valuable is his/her business—but not in this instance. I truly believe there is a right and a
wrong vision to have when it comes to fitness. You are not a photograph, therefore your fitness cannot be
measured by color, shading, or relative beauty. You are not a checkbook, therefore your fitness cannot be
valued by how much money you spend or save. And you are not a facebook account, so your fitness cannot
be measured by how many friends you have.
The only thing that matters when it comes to fitness is your ability to physically thrive. If your vision is rooted in anything
other than this you are missing out on the better you, if not completely
wasting your time. Regardless of your
age, gender, or current level of capacity, you must see yourself running, jumping,
lifting, climbing, swimming, throwing, flipping, riding, and crushing your way
through any obstacle nature dares offer.
Imagine smelling the air at 10,000 feet, tasting the waters of the
Meditteranean, and feeling your feet carry you where no automobile ever could. It feels good because, deep down, there
is a bond between every living creature and his environment that must be kept
strong. To ignore this urge is to
deny the real you.
But look around the world and you’ll see plenty of
denial. People have grown so
obsessed with looking fit that most have forgotten what it’s like to actually
be fit. This is what I mean by an
unrealistic vision. For hundreds
of thousands of years humans have been hunting, gathering, running, climbing,
and fighting their way to survival.
It’s only in the last 10,000 years that we’ve grown our own food, and
only in the last 300 that we’ve lazily passed that burden on to machines. The simple fact is that your body was
designed to be truly fit… it wants to
be out there fighting to survive, not posing in the mirror and measuring carbs.
Think about this: our most basic instincts are that of
survival and procreation, both of which used to be contested in nature through
physical means. While we may not
recognize it, these instincts are still the bedrock of our every conscious
action. Our jobs, our schools, our
family dynamics, they’re all social evolutions of the human need to survive and
procreate. The only difference now
is that we’ve effectively removed the
physical requirement from the equation. Imagine 10,000 years ago instead of hunters fighting over a
carcass, they sat down and divided the meat based on their investment
portfolios. Or when competing over
a female they laid down their clubs and compared six packs. Ridiculous, right? But that is the vision civilization is
cramming down your throat and your body doesn’t know what to make of it.
The point is, just because we’ve evolved as a society does
not mean we’ve evolved as a species.
Take away the technology and the higher learning and we are the same
hunting/gathering humans we used to be.
We need food, shelter, and sleep.
We need companionship. That
is all. The question we must ask
is why our vision of fitness doesn’t reflect this. Rather than defining ourselves as physical beings with
physical needs in an increasingly non-physical world, we allow the non-physical
world to dictate to us a new and superficial normal. Our visions for ourselves become that of slender mother, tanned
entrepreneur, or yoked policeman. It’s
pathetic. Worse, it’s
unnatural.
True fitness only comes when you satisfy your body’s
physical need to meet its instinctual demands. Anything short of this will ring hollow. You aren’t a mother trying to lose baby
weight, you’re an adventure seeker who can’t wait to share the world with her child.
Your job doesn’t provide safety and security for your family, you do—by being
physically capable of performing it day after day after day. You don’t train at 6am so you can look
good in your uniform, you do it so that when a criminal decides to turn on you
it’s the worst decision he’s ever made. These are visions crafted in keeping
with the instincts we were born with, so they sync well with our psyche and are
easy to sustain if followed through.
Which brings me to the second point: A vision without action
is worthless. This should go
without saying, but it probably accounts for 90% of the failed fitness experiments
out there. Tell me if this sounds
familiar…
You’ve recognized the futility of trying to look like a magazine cover and are ready to reclaim your place on the fitness map. You read an article about CrossFit and decide you like the idea of training for capacity rather than looks, for survival rather than for show. You walk into your local box and go through their onramp sequence and you love it. Straight up LOVE IT. You feel challenged, supported, and, better yet, alive. Something sings inside of you so deep and so loud that you know it’s right. This is the feeling you’ve been searching for.
Fast forward 2 months and your body is starting to
change. You’re stronger than
you’ve ever been, more conditioned than you’ve ever been, and your friends
start to notice you getting leaner.
You see a new member struggling through onramp and assure him it gets
better. You feel fulfilled.
Fast forward 4 months and your progress is slowing. You’re being asked to cover more hours
at work and your schedule is filling up with kids’ soccer practices and
birthday parties. You make it to
the gym a couple times a week at best.
You feel annoyed.
Fast forward 6 months and you’re back where you
started. Your strength is gone,
your stamina is gone, and you step in the gym for the first time in months to
discover the new member you gave advice to is running circles around your tired
ass. You feel depressed.
Now comes the important part. How do you react?
Do you look back on that year and sigh, “What a waste,” or do you look
at it and say, “I missed so many opportunities to get better… that won’t happen
again.” The main difference
between beggar and CEO isn’t that one was given all the breaks, it’s that one
took advantage of all the breaks he was given. No matter how tough your schedule is at work or how
demanding your home life gets, there is always a way to keep training. Do burpees on the soccer field,
handstands in your office, and sprints up the stairs. If you sprain your ankle, become an expert at pullups. If you tweak your shoulder, it’s time
to squat and deadlift. Manifesting
your fitness vision does not require ideal conditions, it requires regularity. Make it a mandatory part of your life
and you will never be weak, you will never be overwrought, and you will never
feel disconnected.
But we’re not all there yet, and I recognize that. Distilling desires and dreams down to a
simple, elemental vision takes time and practice. You’re going to oscillate, get it wrong, and reform from
time to time. You’re going to get
confused. That’s all well and good
so long as you’re not straying too far from the foundation. Remember that you’re hard wired for a
physical existence and that you have to seek it daily. I cringe when I ask people about their
ideal vision and they say, “I can’t wait to retire.” Or, “I want to just kick
back and relax.” You might as well
be saying, “I’m ready to die,” because that’s what your body is going to hear.
Try this instead: wake up eager, push your limits, and be a
beast.
