Getting out of debt changed my life. I had no idea that working towards a financial goal would have such a profound impact on health, motivation and fitness, but it did. Some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life came from getting out of debt.
The same is true of working out. Building a habit of going to the gym and embracing fitness has taught me lessons about hard work, consistency and stepping out of my comfort zone. Many of these lessons have come directly from CrossFit and while they were learned in the gym, they’ve changed my life outside of the gym!
I really enjoyed Joshua Medcalf’s book Chop Wood, Carry Water. The title refers to one of my favorite Zen sayings: Before enlightment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightment, chop wood, carry water.
For years I’ve adapted that Zen wisdom with my clients and in my own life.
Before success, chop wood, carry water. Do the grunt work. Do the work, period. Hammer the basics.
After success, chop wood, carry water. You don’t ease off, you keep doing the grunt work and hammering the basics.
To create success, your habits, choices and behaviors should look remarkably consistent during and after.
In the book, Medcalf tells a story of a frustrated young student, wishing to become a Samurai archer.
The mentor explains the following…
“First year, you must learn to aim with your eyes. Second year, you must learn to draw your bow smoothly, hold it stable, and aim with your muscles. Third year, you must learn to breathe slowly, control your diaphragm, and aim with your lungs. I have been chopping wood and carrying water for forty-nine years. And while you may only aim with your eyes and your muscles and your lungs right now, I aim with everything.”
Friend, when it comes to creating change, we have a tendency to aim only with our choices. We focus on what we should be doing more or less of. We need to eat more vegetables, less sugar. We need to sleep more, watch TV less. We need to save more, spend less. We are aiming with our choices.
We dramatically accelerate our progress and make change significantly easier when we aim with everything.
Aim with your thoughts.
Aim with your prayers.
Aim with how you spend your time.
Aim with the music you listen to.
Aim with the people you surround yourself with.
Aim with your choices, but also with everything else.
Friends, I am really excited for today’s episode! If you are struggling to stay motivated, this conversation about change being hard versus not changing being hard is one you need to hear. Is it really hard or is it an easier life that is simply unpracticed & unfamiliar? That’s what we’re exploring today! Don’t miss it!
One of my 12 Weeks to Transformation clients emailed me about something she learned from her yoga instructor. It resonated with me and I think it will resonate with you as well.
If you’d rather listen to this blog than read it, please click play. Otherwise, keep reading below.
Thank you so much for your reply. I must have listened to your message 20 times this morning lol….. I love it! Thank you so much.
I took a Yoga class this morning and my teacher brought up something else that was extremely helpful. He was talking about the difference between intensity and stress. Intensity happens, stress is chosen. You can go through an intense moment, experience, situation…. and choose to stay peaceful or you can choose to be stressed. You can back off and let the intensity overwhelm or you can push through and come out the other side ready to grow. Like a seed sprouting, or a life being born…. those moments are of high INTENSITY, but you can chsose to let the moment create growth instead of stress/distress.
It really resonated with me and with everything I was pondering after your message.
So true, right?
Intensity happens. Stress is chosen.
Intensity can result from your circumstances, overwhich you may not have any control. Stress, on the other hand, is a result of your response. Your perspective. That is within your control.
The other thing that stands out to me in her email is stress versus distress.
You can be under physical stress during a workout, but you don’t have to panic or freak out – distress.
You can be under emotional stress when you’re dealing with a family or health crisis, but you can choose peace over distress.
I want you to carry these ideas with you this week and remind yourself that you are always in control of your reactions and your perspectives. To that extent, you’re very much in control of your own stress & distress levels!
We’ve been talking a lot lately about this idea of your personal brand and rebranding yourself in a way that raises your performance to a higher standard. In episode 480 I introduced the idea for a Primal Potential rebrand and in episodes 481, 484 and 485 I shared some of my Masters Club clients rebrands.
Those episodes generated a TON of enthusiasm & excitement as well as a bunch of questions. In today’s episode, we’re answering those questions including:
Elizabeth, what’s your brand? What motivates you?
We’ll also tackle on some seemingly unrelated questions about working out, the microbiome and how frequently we indulge.
In October 2019, our relationship with Thrive Market changed. They decided to put their marketing dollars in avenues outside of podcasting but we still think they’re a good choice if you’re looking to save money on health & personal care products.
