"Adversity is an opportunity for heroism". - Former Bills headcoach, Marv Levy
The last couple weeks have been eye openers for me. With the better weather, its provided the opportunity to get outside more, specifically to ride, and push the limits, realizing the importance of living outside the comfort zone.
What does that mean? Well, in purely athletic terms, if you half-ass a work out, you get half-ass results. Its not complicated, there are no tricks or special things you need to do; bottom line, you got to put in the work. And its easy to get in that routine. Trust me, I know. Last year, I thought, "hey, I work hard, I feel like I'm improving, so I'm on point to do well at any race, any distance." And then I promptly went to my first big pro race and got my ass handed to me. Still, I didn't realize though, what the root of the problem was. I wasn't truly putting in the effort, the heart, necessary to make each workout count. I wasn't as careful with my nutrition as I thought. I had more holes in my game than weapons in my arsenal.
So, I had two choices - 1. Gamble that I could stay on that road, and ride it out, or 2. Suck it up, really make the effort to hit the workouts that were given, and really pay attention to what the hell I needed to do. And so far, its been pretty good. I see differences. Some bigger than others, but the focus is there, and with that, comes something I was missing last year - the hunger. I walked into half my races last year, without any kind of desire or hunger. That hunger that literally leaves the taste of acid in your mouth, b/c you want to just get out there and rip it up.
But as I thought about it more, living life outside my comfort zone, or any of us for that matter, that's how we grow as people. Part of lululemon's credo is "Do one thing a day that scares you." I believe that, and add - start to live, really live your life. You hear constantly, "live like each day is your last" , but how often do we really do it? We get comfortable, complacent actually, and that leaves us missing out on huge opportunities in life. Do one thing a day that scares you. If that's too much, do one thing a week that scares you. Call that girl/guy that you think is out of your league, how will you really know until you ask? Change careers, yeah its scary, hell its down-right frightening, but how will you know true happiness and a sense of true accomplishment if you stay in that dead-end job, always doing just enough to not get fired? You die a little bit each day that way. I know it b/c I lived it. And now, each day is an adventure, each day presents new and fascinating challenges, but if you are pursuing your dream, they aren't obstacles, they are building blocks to creating a complete you.
Look adversity in the eye and grab it by its throat and let it know who's calling the shots. I've learned that if you get out of your own way, the sky is the limit. Marv Levy was right, adversity gives everyone the chance to be great. The question is - are you brave enough to face it head on and say, "Let them come, let them all come. I'm ready"? Only you know the answer, and that's the best part - you control your destiny.
Stay strong,
Guy
