Plan, Prepare, Expect

Thursday’s Thought

I demand a lot from myself. I expect perfection with the tasks that I set out to complete when I know that I have the proper tools available. Take high bar squats for example. I know the proper form, and have done enough of them that once the bar is resting across my back, my body goes into auto pilot and I’m able to move without thinking. It’s a comforting sort of feeling to know that I’ve trained myself well enough to know how to breathe properly, hinge at the hips and drive up once I’ve reached the proper depth. But squats are not like the rest of life. It’s a movement that relies largely on muscle memory, and that’s one of the main reasons it’s an automated process.

Other actions – like showing up for myself every day, and giving fully of myself – are harder to automate because they require consistent monitoring. There’s no way to set it and forget it if I’m trying to always improve! I’d be doing myself a great disservice if I simply set some goals, assigned myself a few tasks and then expected self-growth to just happen. Instead, I find a decided pleasure in setting these goals and then demanding that I make them happen. No one is going to push me to write, send submissions for publications or dig deep for that last set. All of these skills rely on inner fortitude, on the belief that what I am doing is what I’m doing because I’m pushing myself. 

At the gym and in my lab, I find my inner monologue consisting of these words, “One more. One more. One more.” Eventually, I finish whatever it is I’m doing, and even then, a quiet voice is telling me to do one more. Maybe this is what it means to show up every single day. Arnold said it best. “You were born to win. But to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.”