Mindset

The longer I've been in the bodybuilding world, the more importance I place on mindset. Mindset is everything. As I get deeper into a prep, as food gets lower and fatigue starts to increase, it's so important to approach the challenge with the right mindset. While I don't particularly enjoy feeling exhausted (who does?), I am enjoying the challenge. As odd as it sounds, I'm finding a sense of enjoyment in overcoming the struggles. That's right: I'm finding enjoyment in the struggles.

This is new for me. While I've never been one to complain about the journey, I haven't always reframed the struggles in this light. I used to look at them as things that, yes, sucked, but came with the territory. Things to just accept and deal with, maybe try to distract myself from, and move on. This very minor shift from "make it through the struggle" to "relish in the struggle" feels so different.

Yes, there are struggles, and those haven't changed, but my perception of them has. I'm fully convinced that consciously reframing them as things to rise above rather than things to just endure makes all the difference.

I don't want to just pity myself for feeling exhausted, or even distract myself so I don't notice it. I want to acknowledge it, feel it, live it, and then push through it, knowing that experiencing it and actively rising to the challenge is what makes the journey. Make no mistake, I'll never make things more difficult than they need to be just for the sake of being "hardcore". I do believe the best plan is the one the requires the least willpower. And by approaching the challenges with this mindset, I actually think it takes some of the stress away as I'm not looking for answers that don't exist.

I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately on why I do what I do. This journey is my choice, and I do it because I love it. That means I take the good with the bad, the easy with the hard, the fun with the mundane, and the exhilarating with the exhausting. Being tired and hungry aren't just feelings to distract myself from in hopes they'll go away. This mindset shift has brought the strangest sense of excitement in entertaining those same feelings of hunger and exhaustion. I'm viewing them as part of the journey, a right of passage, a challenge to let my mind go there, fully experience the deep sucky-ness of them, and letting that experience build me to be a stronger, more dedicated, more resilient athlete. We don't compete because it's easy. We do it because we really do love rising above the challenge.

#teamnoabs