Set Up, Get up, Win!
I hear the word can’t a lot. It’s probably one of the words I hate most. If you think about it, what is there you or society can’t do? For most things, we’ve found a way to accomplish them. I know, I can’t flap my arms, even really quickly and fly like a bird to the corner store. But we have figured out how to fly. We can fly further and faster than any creature. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are some things that I will never be able to do and they fall under the category of “Can’t”. As a man, I can’t give birth, but I can have a baby, even a newborn. I know I can’t lift 1,000 lbs. But I can use equipment or create a pulley system to accomplish the same goal.
My point is this, the old adage, when there is a will there is a way. Sometimes we just need to open our thoughts and think differently or change our perspective. Not everything has to be difficult if you set your self up for success. So how do you do that? First, define success. Then see how others who have achieved the success you want went about it? Figure out how to make it work for you by copying and improving on their method. Next is the harder part, next is putting it into action and setting yourself up for success.
Countless people know what to do, who know how to do it, who have the intelligence, the strength, the capacity, the will power, the resources, and never reach their goal. They never really got set up to get up and win. Here”s what I mean. They want to be healthy, but their friends and family are all unhealthy and perpetuate poor eating habits and don’t exercise. Therefore the environment is not conducive to success. Can success still be attained? Yes, and that’s where will power and change come in. Remove the triggers to the bad habits and build triggers to good habits. I.e, do not shower until completing a workout. For every sugary snack that’s eaten, spend another 10 minutes on a treadmill. Workout away from home at the same time every day with like-minded people. This combination is creating a rules structure, and environmental change and positive reinforcement. This is the set up for success.
Now the “get up”. That the “do it” part and do it religiously. Get up early and get to work, get up off the sofa and get to work, get up from social media and get to work. It’s easier to get up when you are set up to win, but you still have to do it. You have to commit. It doesn’t matter what we’re talking about. Healthy living, quitting smoking, reading more, doing charitable work, or saving money. When you define what your success is, (who you want to be), see how others do it, set up a strategy and the right environment to make “getting up” easier. The winning becomes easier too.
So what are you waiting for? Time to Set Up, Get Up and Win!
Nobody Said It Would Be Easy
It doesn’t matter what sport you play, what game you compete in, or what you do every day. Winning isn’t easy and it takes work. Whether on a court, in a pool, or in your own head, we all have those driving forces that work to keep us down. The only way to win is to not give up and don’t let the negative internal or external voices influence you.
There is an old story about an elderly Cherokee brave who tells his grandson about life.
“Son,” he says, “Within all of us there is a battle of two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
“The same fight is going on inside of you, and inside every other person, too,” explained the wise Cherokee elder.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.”
That evil wolf is the one that screams you can’t do it. To him I say, bullshit, I can do it. That’s how you starve the evil wolf and feed the good wolf. We put a man on the moon, we put up a space station, we built vehicles that can circle the globe, we’ve built buildings that reach one half mile into the sky. There’s really nothing that can’t be done if you believe and commit.
It’s not easy, sometimes it’s scary, but winning and progressing isn’t easy, nobody said it would be. Easy doesn’t lead to growth, easy doesn’t lead to learning, easy doesn’t lead to winning. So, go ahead, tell yourself you can do it, jump out of your comfort zone and commit to doing something to make yourself better, and tell the internal and external voices that work to hold you back to get on board or get out. Your mind has no room for losers.
2020 is coming. What will you do today to make a better tomorrow? Nobody said it would be easy.
Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash