The differences between lemons and limes are easy to spot. One is yellow, the other green. It is so simple that we almost don’t need to think about it.
But the big differences in life and business are not that simple. They can involve complex, frightening, uncomfortable and overwhelming decisions.
Four years ago I embarked on a journey to become a Spartan Racing Trifecta athlete. Put simply, I wanted to push my limits physically, mentally and emotionally in three different races in three different parts of the world.
That decision was easy.
Then came the series of hard decisions I had to make to train diligently and effectively for these races. It was not easy to get up at 530am to run in -20C temps in full winter gear with my headlamp. But I decided that in order to be successful during the races, I had to make the tough decisions now to be dedicated to my training.
Here is what happened in my life during those three years of training when I decided that there was going to be no easy routes with my training:
Improved Resilience
For anyone who has ever run any race of any kind, you know resilience is required. Spartan racing requires another level of resilience. I knew that in order to crush the goal I needed to build resilience over and over again to be ready for the races.
Improved Relationships
It’s funny how simple life is. Become more disciplined in one area and the other areas seem to fall into place. My close relationships improved dramatically and new relationships formed due to training and intermittent races while building for the trifecta.
High-Level Thinking
We all know that movement can stimulate deep thinking. Heart pounding physical activity can produce dramatic thought leadership and thought currency by increasing blood flow to the brain. While training for the trifecta, I had many days of clear, deep thinking as my mind was fresh, alert and ready to innovate/tackle challenges within my career.
Personal Growth
Nothing screams growth like the feeling of a good run or a strong workout where you push to better your personal best. In my book, “Thought Leadership” (see below) I talk about being 5% better each day in all areas of your life to maximize your wealth. If we look at training like this and we go to the gym for two minutes longer than we did the workout before, you become 5% better! That mindset over time yields incredible, compounding results.
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Previously published on medium
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Photo credit: by Jon Tyson on Unsplash