Week 005- GORUCK Selection Training
Turns out training for something hard is hard.
Well as it turns out, training for something hard, is hard. Should seem like common sense but often I don’t think we think this way all the time.
I wrote an article about procrastination today and it helped me reflect on my own shortcomings. Procrastination often comes from fear. It comes from a place where we want to protect the ego. If we procrastinate something, we can rationalize to ourselves that we didn’t give that something our all. Making us feel better about our shortcomings.
It’s in the moments where we give it our all where we find out who we are. Finding out who we are is scary. Who wants to do that? Why would we want to find out if we have what it takes to achieve a goal?
Because if it’s important enough to you, you’ll be left with two choices:
You find out if you have what it takes.
You’ll die never knowing if you could have done it.
Choice one leaves you with a possibility and choice two leaves you with no possibility. This isn’t a trolly problem you’re dealing with. This is a problem that is clear and yet, we often make the emotional decision that is wrong.
I haven’t been that bad about procrastination as of late. In fact, the last few weeks, I’ve done all my lifting workouts and ran a good amount of miles. However, the friction is still there. It will always be there. You have to learn to love the friction.
Learning to love the friction is a challenge because it’s hard to convince our subconscious mind to love it.
The other day, I was doing a tough shoulder workout. My shoulders hurt and I kept pushing more. Shoulder strength is important in a GoRuck event as you’ll have to hold your ruck above your head. As I was doing my last final reps, I kept reaching deeper for more and then I started smiling and laughing.
Laughing? Smiling? I was laughing because I genuinely was learning to love the friction in that moment. Getting better at that time was a joy. The times I hate working out are the workouts that feel unproductive and monotonous.
You know, those workouts where someone just goes through the motions? Going through the motions is better than no motions at all but it doesn’t mean that I don’t hate doing it.
My Biggest Take Away From This Week:
Learning to love the friction is something that I’m going to lean into this week. While we may not physically be able to give 100% every time, we can give 100% of our focus each time. What does 100% of focus mean? I’m not entirely sure. Some days, it might feeling like going through the motions but you are giving it your best. Other days, it might be the best day ever.
Often, I don’t think we even know what 100% effort means. If I looked at myself 10 years ago, what I thought was effort isn’t even hard anymore. Effort can be subjective to the individual and if you’re trying to motivate someone else to work like you are, try to remember that.