No one wants to get to the end of their lives with severe regrets. This quote by my friend Flex Lewis epitomizes what all of us fear about not giving our best toward our end goals.
Personal Example:
I can recall when I decided that football was no longer for me. I was kicking off to the other team in college. I squibbed the ball and it hit the opposing lineman who was only 10 hards away right in the chest. The ball came back to me. I leaned over to pick it up and I got killed by a linebacker. My left shoulder went numb and lifeless. I stumbled off the field and I could not move my left arm for a long time. At that moment I knew that this was not my game and I gave up trying to compete inside myself. The feeling was overwhelmingly lonely and I felt isolated. I felt like I was letting everybody who believed in me down. This is a severe regret that I gave up on myself and my goals. Not a good moment but it happened.
Nothing means more for us who have chosen bodybuilding as a “quest.” We have to know that each time we stand on stage we have progressed and are better this time than last time we competed. Personally, I always want to be the best I can and that I am moving ahead with my training and in my life in general.
Regarding my training I have 4 Maxims that I live by:
1.) I don’t miss workouts
2.) I don’t talk during my workouts
3.) I work harder than anybody else in the gym
4.) When I leave the gym, I know that I own the place
I have developed this system of absolutes so that I can constantly check my effort and my level of commitment as I train. In my world, nothing gets in my way to get to the gym to push myself to the limit each day six days per week. I cannot let others dictate when I train and how hard I train. This is up to me and these are my personal benchmarks.
When it comes to competing I have another set of Maxims that I use:
1.) I have to be in the best shape of my life that night
2.) I will not embarrass myself
3.) I want to finish higher this time than last time
4.) If I accomplish the first three than I am a winner
There is another great quote from Flex Lewis that I have hanging in my bedroom and in the kitchen that keeps me on track:
“The Trophy is earned in the hours that no one is watching”–Flex Lewis .
This particular quote resonates with me because this is very much my personality. I am a bit of a maverick. I work best alone and I march to my own drummer. I set the pace according to my physical strength that day and as my psyche dictates. There are mostly days that I can’t wait to train and I am firing on all cylinders. On these days I try to push things a “little further.” Then, there are days when I am a little under the weather or something emotional has derailed me. On these days I push myself through these things so as not to cheat my body out of a great training session that it needs to progress. I have been known to train with a fever, congestion, weakness, lightheadedness, and with minor injuries to work around. I try to maintain the attitude that nothing stands in the way of my training to include cardio. Nobody sees these efforts and thus Flex Lewis’ quote is my quote.
This mindset of winning or doing our best so we can arrive at our stated goal is all there is in life. Let’s be clear that this mindset applies to “ANYTHING” we set our minds to—“NOT JUST BODYBUILDING.”
In closing, let it be our own personal credos that we will never be satisfied with mediocre effort. For, to do less than our best is a formula for failure and disappointment in ourselves and for those around us who depend on us. I don’t want to come to the end of my days knowing I did not do my best. I too could not live with that.
Until next time I remain, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM
Six Pack and Senior 