Workout equipment: None
Krista Stryker
On embracing struggle, avoiding the happiness trap, and calisthenics
Happy Monday,
I often talk about getting out of your comfort zone and pushing your limits, both inside and outside of the gym. But does making progress toward your goals ever really get easier?
Yes and no.
When we think of people who are great at what they do, from top athletes to successful entrepreneurs, we understand that their paths weren’t always easy.
Top performers are so good at their craft because they consistently struggle to reach the next level. Not only do they learn to expect discomfort, they learn to make peace with it and even lean into the struggle.
On the other hand, most of us think that something’s amiss when we encounter struggle.
But this is one of the many reasons I love fitness so much: it’s such a fantastic training ground for the rest of life.
When you’re working toward a fitness-related goal, whether it’s doing your first pull-up, gaining a faster sprint time, or learning a challenging new sport or skill, you don’t expect it to come easily to you. You expect to struggle.
Each time you force yourself through one more rep or to run just a little bit faster and further, you’re building mental strength.
Training your body to become stronger and more resilient also trains your mind to do the same thing.
As Russ Harris writes in The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living (great book, not such a great subtitle):
“The more you try to avoid discomfort, the harder it will be to make important changes. Change involves risk. It requires facing your fears and stepping out of your comfort zone—both of which point to one thing: change will usually give rise to uncomfortable feelings.”
The more you can learn to expect, accept, and, ultimately, lean into struggle, the more you’ll start making real progress toward your goals.
How Fitness and Sports Can Teach Us About Life
I didn’t grow up as an athlete. I was a shy, clumsy kid who preferred books to sports. I didn’t do my first push-up until I was twenty-one, and it wasn’t until much later that “athlete” became a core part of my identity. Like most adults, I first started exercising mainly to lose weight. Once …
What to do when you’re feeling off, using the body to control the mind, and line sprints
Happy Monday,
The other day I was shooting baskets and just could not make a shot. If you had been observing me that day, you would have thought I had never played basketball before.
Just a few days before, I was on fire. I couldn’t miss a shot.
But not this day.
Same place, same ball, even same basic weather. So what changed?
Why we feel on fire some days and “off” the very next is a mystery that scientists and performance psychologists are always trying to unravel.
There’s no one simple answer, but there are reasons why you might feel great some days and not so great others.
For example, if you’re feeling off, ask yourself the following:
- Have you gotten enough sleep lately?
- Have you taken enough time to recover (both your body and mind?)
- Are you dealing with more stress, or are you feeling more caught up in your emotions today?
If any of the above has changed, then you’ve probably got your answer as to why you’re feeling off.
Everyone has off days. They’re part of the process, so learn to expect them and don’t get too discouraged when they do happen.
Shake it off and come back another day.
