…continued from “The Insanity”

It was 7am

A war between four walls just came to an end (Racquetball)

I stepped out of the court and into the gym

Inspiration was all around me

There was only 1 thing left to do

1 thing left before returning to my mediocre life

To my 8-5

To my place as a spoke on a spoke wheel

It was time for pain

An exercise routine I call a 5x5x5

5 Exercises, 5 Reps each exercise, for 5 sets

As fast as you can

All in push up position

You only break when you need to

Somewhere in the middle I broke

My knees hit the floor and my chin hit my chest

My vision was a wet blur

And my breathing was out of control

And then it happened

One of the most profound insights I have ever had

Hit me

I looked at the floor 2 feet below

I saw a puddle of sweat and I smiled

I laughed

I shook my head

Because I realized that this is what it’s all about

Pushing yourself

Pushing boundaries

Building strength

Becoming unstoppable and unbreakable

Realizing how far you can go

How much pain you can endure

And how good it really feels

My pain now was different than my pain 3 months ago

It wasn’t the pain of being out of shape

It was the pain of hard work

Of progress

And it felt beautiful

Outcomes (like a 6 pack) are byproducts to the true reward

The glory is in the work

It’s in the process

The journey

And it’s in everything we do

If you don’t love the work, then the outcome will always suffer

But when you fall in love

With the sweat, and with the pain, in the process

Then there is nothing that can stop you

And there is no outcome that you can’t achieve

It’s a mental war

The only thing that can limit your greatness is you

And that’s exactly what almost ripped me apart

And brought it all to an end

Myself

… “My Demise”

I’ve let myself down time and time again. So have you. I know that because we all have. This journey was no different. I hit hurdles and I struggled with finding a balance between social enjoyments and optimized health. It was my personal downfall that we all can relate to in one way or another. Read about my struggle.