Are You Willing To Be Great?
Imagine the date is Monday - March 27, 2017. I happen to record the thoughts twirling in my head with a voice recorder on my way to the gym. Well, I finally put those thoughts on paper. So here you go…
I slept in until 4 o’clock this morning. I was excited to get an extra hour and half of sleep. It's Monday morning and I’m on my way to the gym. The rest of the world will be rolling out of bed soon. They’ll be dreading their day and moping around like a bunch of zombies from The Walking Dead. But, here I am excited to “sleep in” until 4am and go to the gym. Today is my rest day because I went hard yesterday instead of taking my normal Sunday recovery day.
Then I got to thinking, “what separates average from greatness?”
Is it waking up at 4am on your rest day to go to the gym? No, I don’t think that’s what it is at all. I think it’s the WILLINGNESS to do so. If I had to pick one word today that separates average from great I would pick WILLINGNESS. You must be willing to sacrifice many different things; and it’s not that complicated. It’s nothing crazy, just the little things. You must be willing to sacrifice the instant gratification so prevalent today for the long-term goal. That is easier said than done for most.
You must be willing to give up some sleep. You must be willing to stay up late and still wake up early. You must be willing to walk passed the vending machine in the afternoon when you’re craving sugar. You must be willing to pass up that night out on Wednesday with your buddies. Or, maybe you do go out but, you’re willing to drink a water instead of beer to just hang out with friends. You must be willing to turn off the television and get off the couch; willing to routinely be uncomfortable to reach your desired goal. It’s not that complicated when you think about it. Everything I just mentioned is short-term pleasures, instant gratification, right now.
How do you feel when you go out and get drunk in the middle of the week? How do you feel when you cave and eat that Snickers bar at work? These things may feel great… for now. You may feel on top of the world for those two minutes that chocolate is in your mouth. But, if you know deep down that your goal is to lose 10lbs before summer vacation how will you feel as soon as the candy bar is gone? When you bypass the salad bar and head straight for that slice of pizza? When you turn off the television to look at the clock and see that you wasted four hours when you could’ve been preparing for that presentation to get that promotion you think you deserve. How will you feel? How will you feel when you snooze your alarm and skip your morning workout yet again? When you wake up hungover after a night out partying and spend all day on the couch sipping Gatorade and popping Tylenol, how will you feel? These are just a few basic examples of instant gratification.
These things may feel great the moment you’re in them, but that moment is short lived. That moment is very short in comparison to your overall goal and life you want for yourself. You may enjoy that candy bar for a few minutes, but pay the price mentally and physically for hours. You might skip a one hour workout and pay the mental price for twenty-three. A few hours at the bar could kill your positive momentum and take days to recover from.
But, let’s get back to the point. What separates average from great is simply the willingness to give up short-term gratification to reach a long-term goal. It does not require any special talents, skillsets, or genetics. It only requires the proper mindset.
So why am I talking about this today? Why am I hung up on being great? Do I think I’m great? Hell no! I’ve been on both sides of the article. I’ve overslept and I’ve missed workouts. I’ve binged on television and I’ve binged on ice cream. But, I’ve also been on the great side of life. I’ve kept my long-term goals in sight and passed on indulgences. Now, I’ve got that vision for the future and I know what it takes to get there.
Whenever you can make the right decisions to reach your long-term vision the feeling is incredible. You may not feel it at that exact moment. You may even feel the opposite while making the right decisions; you may feel uncomfortable. For example, your workout may be downright painful, but the feeling of accomplishment you get when it’s over will stay with you all day long; and that happiness is worth the pain.