Impossible Perfection

As a trainer and gym owner, my line of vision is almost exclusively focused on my world. To the rest of you, our little first world issues seem inconsequential, but to us they are our business. Such as…

When I see people constantly reinforcing themselves with words like, “I just have to trust the process/I have to be comfortable with some extra fat/I have to bring up my *insert body part here*” I wonder if that immersion into the land of impossible perfection is healthy.

When I see people call themselves weak who lift more than 99% of the people walking the streets today and beat themselves down in training for an extra few pounds so they can feel better about themselves.

As a trainer, and a person who has been in the shoes of the above two people, it is my job to keep you from jumping off that ledge and beating yourself down unmercifully. When I see you walk into my gym, I don’t see a person who needs to fit a mold of impossible perfection, I see a person who just needs to be consistently good.

That can be difficult for some because it requires more mental willpower to not achieve the extreme than it does to achieve, “I am cool with this”.

I can speak for myself and say I battle this weekly. When I have weight on the bar I remember how strong I used to be and a part of me wants to taste that again. I sit at 232 and remember clearly when I was 275 and a walking wall. In my mind I am small but when I hear people say, “damn dude, you are huge”. I remember quickly that to the normal person, that isn’t the case…. and it’s a harsh demonstration of the echo chamber I exist in with this business when I am that critical of myself.

Because of this mindset I am able to use my struggle to teach others how to overcome their own.

The best advice I can give anyone who struggles with this:

1. The past is dead, you are no longer what you used to be
2. You aren’t anyone else, comparison is theft
3. You can’t force the process with more training, more dieting, or more pain. You only hasten the crash
4. Train for life, don’t live to train

I love to see people get stronger, look better, be leaner, be healthier, but the most important part of this process is simple.

Learn to love yourself, and progress because of that self care.

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