One of the many things the Marine Corps does very well is prove that a lot of things can get done before the sun rises.
When I went through Marine Corps boot camp back in the summer of 1994, it was a huge wake up call. I was a 116-pound stud, or so I thought.
Yes, I weighed 116 pounds, a fact that still astonishes me to this day. The Marine Corps was going to make a man out of me and get some weight on me fast!
Regularly, recruits are placed in order by their last name. Every morning was greeted with shouts of obscenities to get our crusted eyes open and in front of our racks to shout out our last names for roll call.
This morning was like no other morning. The drill instructors busted in the squad bay and began to shout while each recruit stood in front of their lockers half asleep, we waited for the command to “count off”. At the command of “count off”, each recruit shouted their last name one by one until the last recruit.
This time something was wrong. By time the last recruit shouted his last name, the drill instructors realized someone was missing.
The drill instructors went ballistic. They started yelling trying to determine who was missing. As I turned my head towards my left shoulder, I saw a recruit on the top bunk sit up in his bed, turn his head side to side, as though he was trying to figure out where he was, soon realized he was not dreaming. The drill instructors ran over to him like they were going to eat him alive.
The recruit was a tall guy named Sloan. He had nowhere to go but take the verbal and physical lashing that lasted what seemed like hours. Because of this event, our timetable would now be off, and if the drill instructors hated one thing, it was to be the last platoon to show up for the next event, in this case, breakfast.
Do you think Sloan would have got up on time to do what was required if the drill instructors didn't wake him up each morning? Would we all end up as hardened Marines at the end of 11 weeks of boot camp?
What is holding you back?
Whether we want to admit it or not humans are lazy, and sadly, we’re getting even lazier. In fact, this is partly not our fault. If we can blame anything, we should blame our brains.
Our brains consume more calories and uses more oxygen than any other organ. Because of this, the brain is smart and wants to conserve energy and only give enough effort to survive.
Now, after we have established habits and routines, our brains will stick to them and fight to keep it that way. As you can imagine, this is good and bad for us.
When trying to change any habit, lifestyle, or routine, if you are not prepared to battle it out with your brain you are going to lose every time and go right back to where you started!
Have you ever worked out by yourself? How good of a workout did you put in?
It is highly unlikely that you could put up as much weight or push out a couple more reps than if you had a training partner or someone to spot you.
I certainly would be willing to bench more weight if I had a spotter or push out another rep if I had someone encouraging me to go “one more”.
Here are effective ways to get things done every time.
Have a training partner. When we have training partners, we work out harder than if we would work out alone. Just think of how much weight you would be comfortable lifting by yourself and with a training partner. You will always be willing to lift more weight when there is someone there to spot you.
Also, when you have someone to workout with, you will show up more often than when you are working out alone.
Why is this? Because you don’t want to let someone down. Someone is depending on you and you know how it would feel if you were expecting someone to show up and they didn't.
What motivates you more, avoiding pain or gaining a reward?
Are you willing to bet a thousand dollars to stick to a workout plan for a month? Or, would you rather spend a thousand dollars on a new wardrobe for sticking with your workout plan for a month?
Once you know what motivates you more, set a goal and get your pain consequence or reward set in place. You must be willing to set this in place to make this work. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
Recently, I was watching a documentary on Netflix about Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, titled “I Am Bolt. Usain Bolt is a 3 time Olympic World Champion. He is the most gifted athlete of all time. He is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. There may never be another Usain Bolt, like there will never be a Muhammed Ali, Michael Jordan, or Michael Phelps in our lifetime. He is an unbelievable athlete.
What does Usain struggle with? In his own words, “I hate training, but I love competition”. But, he has a goal. He's focused. He's determined.
Successful athletes, business executives, business owners, and everyday successful people know the secret to success; What is the secret? They have a coach. Usain credits his coach for much of his success.
Why is this, because they know they will not do what they need to do to be the best at what they do. They know their brains will always take the easy route.
They understand the power of accountability. This is the secret to success!
Us men often want to do things on our own. We want the glory and credit for achieving success by our own abilities. The truth is, any successful man has had a lot of support and never does it entirely on his own.
How many successful men, when given the opportunity, give themselves ALL the credit for their success. You won’t, because they will always have a team of people to thank.
Give yourself the chance to reach new levels of your true potential. What are you waiting for? Get yourself a coach today!