I realise that most of my articles aren’t about the mechanics of training, and I am currently working on writing much more on HOW to do things instead of mindset. But here is why I write about mindset so much, and why you should still read articles that talk about it :
Quoting Anthony Robbins on the subject, most of the things you do in life are « 80% psychology and only 20% mechanics”. Starting badly is 100% better than doing nothing perfectly. And to get started is so much harder than actually doing the work. Once you’ve started you gain momentum, and then it’s just about keeping it going.
We’ve all heard people standing around, believing they have a billion dollar idea in their head. Maybe they do, but they are lacking the psychology to GET to work, and DO the work. HOW and WHAT you do comes after you’ve DECIDED you’re going to start.
I write about psychology, mindset, and motivation mostly because what you need before you start anything are those three components. As Steven Pressfield says in the War Of Art, (and I think he quoted Stephen King in On Writing), it’s not the writing that’s hard, it’s the sitting down to write that’s hard. And in the same way, it isn’t the weightlifting or the dieting that’s difficult, but making sure you get down and do it every single day.
Just like Gary Vaynerchuck suggests, immersing yourself in unwavering positivity will get you moving, and achieving. Once you start the motion, then the mechanics are just a matter of studying and applying. Messing up, and trying again. Making things better day in day out, week after week, month after month, year after year.
You should know what you like doing, and you should know what you’re good at. I like explaining things, and I’m exceedingly good with people. I’m good at building solid relationships, and I like conversations. I’m good at picking up details, and analysis. And I need to move or I go crazy.
What these qualities and tastes mean are : I’m a teacher that loves sports. So of course I’m a Personal Trainer.
The writing is something else. Writing is how I reorder my brain. I likes to explore ideas, but I am terrible at doing it in my head. I have to write them out, or talk to someone to get them straight. They need to get out of my head. This blog is just that. It is the tool I use to understand what I’m thinking an how I construct things in my head. See what i just did? I didn’t really know why I was writing before I wrote it out.
You can never have a great idea or plan and just expect things to go alright. Thinking and acting are linked, interwoven into a single process, and separating them is madness. You have no idea of what is really going to happen. What reactions, what obstacles are really going to be there waiting for you.
This is why most of my articles are on understanding who you are, what you want, what you like, what you are good at. There are no cookie cutter plans, but there might be one just for you out there. So understand yourself, prep yourself mentally, get your hands dirty, and you’re 80% there already.
Just keep going.
Take it easy.
Morgan.