Guilty as charged. This morning in the gym, I knew my workout required multiple sets of 15 reps. Today, I felt like stopping at ten on the final set. In fact, I did stop and decided that a drink of water was more important than the final five reps. On the way to the fountain I passed the animal cage (where heavy lifters and 200+ bench press club were getting in far more than 15 reps) and realized those days have been gone for a few years.
Then I spotted this young guy wearing a disgusting sweatshirt. It read “Every F****N Rep.” While you may be disgusted by the unfortunate normalizing of the use of a word in public discourse, I was disgusted at the image in the mirror that the shirt reflected to me. While I didn’t love the word on his shirt, its message hit me hard: no breaks until I finished every single rep. If you’ve committed to a workout, project, or anything else, you can’t cut out when you’re almost at the finish line. “No water for you, back to work slacker,” I told myself, “Pick up the 55’s, back on the bench and start over. No credit for the 10 already done.”
Feedback isn’t always comfortable nor should it be. While I’m not a proponent of profanity in everyday discourse, this guy’s shirt gave me the feedback I needed.
Success requires triggers that get us back on track with what we say is most important. What are yours? How can you keep yourself on track even when you’re tired and ready for a break? Self-awareness and self-discipline are a baseline for leader’s success.
I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.