I want you to think back to the last time you truly threw yourself 100% into transforming your life (which is different than this transforming).
If you’re like me, that might be difficult. You see, I don’t know what it is about us nerds, but we’re often afraid to try with all of our effort. We’re afraid of failing, that giving our all and not succeeding is a knock against who we are at our core. If we don’t put it all on the line, then “we” are protected.
So, instead of going all in, of giving everything we’ve got…we kind of half-ass it. We give half an effort, and then when things fail, we’re quick to say “this system doesn’t work,” “well I didn’t really try,” or “I knew it would fail.”
Well, Charles Bukowski has something to say about that.
If you watch one thing today, let it be this (hat tip to Anthony):
Although Bukowski probably wasn’t talking about physical fitness and training, I think it’s perfectly applicable to everything we do at Nerd Fitness.
For some reason, we hold back – almost as if it’s preferred to actually going ALL IN on something. Why? Because if we’ve given our all, and we still fail…what is left? If we go all in and fail, we tell ourselves that we are failures. We aren’t good enough.
In reality, giving our all and then failing is one of the best things that could possibly happen to us. When we give max effort and we fail, we’re only setting ourselves to level up.
When we put it all on the line and then fail, we’ve taken the first step to true improvement.
If you half-ass your way through a job interview or college application and things don’t go well, you’re stuck wondering “what if I had actually tried?”
If you go ALL in on either of those things and fail, you can quickly move onto the next opportunity, making improvements to your strategy and tweaks to your resume.
In the same vein, if you half-ass your way to transforming your body and things don’t work, you’ll never know why it didn’t work.
If you are going to get in shape, go all the way. Actively work towards bettering yourself, every day, and see what you’re capable of. Don’t think in terms of days or weeks, but rather for the rest of your life. You’re not dieting, you’re not just exercising to look good in a bathing suit for a few weeks each summer. You’re doing it to build a better body for the rest of your life.
This is all, of course, assuming things don’t work out when you go all in. The far more likely scenario is that…things will work out. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has found ways to succeed through going all in and refusing to consider failure.
So remember: If you’re going to try. Go all the way:
It could mean derision. It could mean mockery–isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it.”
And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”
Of course, our little green friend Yoda said it more succinctly: “Do or do not, there is no try.”
Yes or No, Not Guess So
To this day, I still remember a powerful lesson that Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel-san in The Karate Kid.
When Miyagi asks Daniel if he wants to learn Karate, Daniel replies with a half-assed “yeah, I guess so!”
Miyagi: Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later [makes squish gesture]
Miyagi: Get squish just like grape. Here, karate, same thing. Either you karate do “yes” or karate do “no.” You karate do “guess so,” [makes squish gesture]
Miyagi: Just like grape. Understand?
Daniel: Yeah, I understand.
For Daniel-san, this was an easy lesson to understand. He could either NOT do Karate, and thus avoid fighting Johnny Lawrence (NO MERCY!), stay safe, and spend the rest of his life scared…or he could go ALL the way, apply himself and focus on the lessons learned from Miyagi.
If he were to only go half-way, “yeah, I guess so,” he could find himself in a world of trouble when his half-training gets himself hurt.
Oftentimes, we think that just dipping our toe into the water or going halfway is an easy way to “try” something without the fear of failure or having to put forth max effort. This doesn’t mean adopting 50 new habits at once, but rather truly committing to some new small changes in your life.
With karate, with deadlifting, with building a business…”yeah I guess so” doesn’t give you a chance to succeed – doesn’t show you what you’re truly capable of, and can oftentimes do more harm than good.
I remember a lesson my mom taught me when teaching me to drive. When I got ready to pull into traffic for the first time, she told me: “Stephen (yeah she still calls me that), you either pull into traffic, or you don’t. Go half-way and you’re screwed…so if you’re gonna go, GET YOUR ASS OUT THERE!”
Thanks, ma!
Go All the Way, and Don’t Half-Ass It
I wish Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation was a real person, as I would very much like to hang out with him.
Sure, he’s full of amazing quotables, but there’s one in particular that always stuck out:
“Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”
Anytime you can draw a brilliant life lesson from a quote that says “ass” twice, you better listen up.
Be more like Swanson! WHOLE-ASS YOUR LIFE.
We get one shot at life on this planet, and half-assing things for fear of failure or rejection (or worse, fear of success) isn’t going to get you what you want. It’s time to step outside that comfort zone, and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
I’m not saying you need to go FULL PALEO and strength train 7 days a week and burn yourself out. Instead, I’m saying see what happens when you full dedicate yourself to a plan, don’t allow self-sabotage, and find out where it takes you.
What are you currently half-assing, and what are you afraid to go all the way on?
Next, what’s one step you can take TODAY to move closer to going all-in, whole-assed, on those things?
My answer: I’m working on a super secret project that I have been putting off for too long, and it was due to too many frequent trips (that I couldn’t say “no” to). So, I’ve essentially cleared my travel schedule for the next few months to stop half-assing the travel, half-assing the projects (which I was afraid to start for a few reasons), and half-assing my training (yes, that’s three half-asses, but BARE with me…ZING!).
Instead, my focus is on two key Nerd Fitness projects and building strength. And still sucking at the violin.
-Steve
Today’s Rebel Hero: Dane! Dane completed the Alcatraz Shark Swim this past summer. Every swimmer makes their escape from Alcatraz by swimming the 1.5 miles to safety – here’s Dane in his wet suit (and his awesome NF tshirt) after the swim. Congrats Dane!
Want to be the next Rebel hero? Send a photo in your NF shirt doing something epic at [email protected].
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photo source: abdulla falz: Karate Kid, Ian Broyles: Air, Jess Loughborough: Holiday
