By: Corbin Williams, NPTI-CPT
Personal Trainer/Nutrition Coach
Have you ever had something come before you that made you give up? In training programs this is something that can easily happen to anyone. Either a goal not being reached or not enough time or work getting in the way or . . . The list goes on. But here is where you have to realize that it’s all just in your mind. Yes, it is easier to say than to do, but if you start thinking about it now it will be that much easier to overcome the hurdle when it arises. Your mind can fool you into thinking you “CAN’T” and will even give you an “excuse”. There is no excuse though. Only your mind telling you that you aren’t good enough. But I’m telling you now, you are good enough!! Let’s look at how to control your mind and make it help you not hinder you. A few key things to start thinking about are determination, edication, and accountability. Put these to work in your life and in your mind and you can overcome anything. You are in control of yourself. If you fail because of yourself, it’s your fault. A quote I love is “You haven’t failed until you fail to try”As long as you continue to try you are not failing. Might it be hard? Yes, but you are still making progress even if it’s slow. So, I have a great example of this mind game in use. I had a team run in the PA Warrior Dash this year in June. All are clients of mine. Each had different abilities and strengths. Just to help you understand this a little, Warrior Dash is a 5K+ run with 16 or so obstacles ranging from flat belly crawling to climbing over 20 foot high walls and narrow plank bridges over water. It is a test of endurance, strength and mental strength. Even though each one on my team was excited to do this race they each had a fear of the unknown. One was afraid of the run because of terrain and had broken her ankle before. Another feared an obstacle on the course to the point where she didn’t want to try to go over it. As you can see they put up a mental block right from the start. I chose to run with my team to help motivate them to finish. The race began and we were off. Right away those fears had to go, we were running.
I reminded them, it’s not how fast you go but it is about crossing that finish line. This race was no match for the will power of these girls. They had put it in their mind that NOTHING was going to stop them. Even though they had fears, they confronted them and pushed through them. It is an awesome thing to see someone who is afraid of a 20 foot high wall with nothing but a rope to hold onto, scale right up and over it as if it was nothing. After word though she did say she was really scared while going over it but she did it anyway. Now any time a wall like that is in her way she will know it’s NOTHING. I am happy to say that every one completed the race. Not one of them let their fears keep them from completing it. Next time you are facing a wall or you can’t see your goal in sight just remember you have to keep going. If you stop, you fail. If you quit, you never make it. If you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you continue to make progress. Eventually you will succeed. Don’t let you mind tell you “YOU CAN’T” because I know and you know you can. The best way to get past a fear is to face it head on and own it. Make it fear you. Nothing can stop you if you want it bad enough. It all starts in your mind. See it, challenge it, own it, and Finish it!
Train hard and don’t stop.
GetReal and Get Results!!
Corbin Williams, NPTI-CPT
Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach
Certified Nutrition Coach
Graduated from the National Personal Training Institute
Owner of GetReal Training, LLC
www.GetRealTraining.net