Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Singular goals mean victory

The overriding difference between people who get to that "next level" and people that don't, has become more obvious to me as of late.

The difference is that the people who aspire to become great, also become very singular minded in their goals, and aspirations.

Those that mill about in self imposed mediocrity tend to not be able to focus on singular goals, or even define what single goal isreally the most important to them. They just aren't sure what it is that they want most.

Their energy is spread out across many different avenues, and they settle for less across a larger scope of wishes, rather than settling for "nothing less than my best" on a small scale.

This becomes apparent when I talk to people and when they tell me their goals, they do not speak with passion. There's far too much indecisiveness. To much uncertainty. Too many "goals" they want met.

There's a smorgasbord of "wants" that span too broad of a spectrum, and it leaves that person wallowing in doubt. Not sure at all of what it is they need to do to make "it" happen. Because they really don't know what "it" is.

If you talk to a successful businessman and ask him, "what is the goal of your company?" he will tell you on the spot. He has a driving vision that pushes him forward towards a singular goal. This is what made him successful in the first place. Concentrating on one thing to work towards. Then energy is not displaced, or dispersed across a broad landscape. It can be honed in on, and directed towards the one thing that will continue to make his company more successful, and his work more efficient.

And there's the key word. Efficient.

You cannot be efficient when you have no idea what it is you really need to be efficient about.

Most dudes want to be "ripped and strong, and jacked, and fast, and........and.....strong, and...did I say ripped yet?"

Women are no different.

"I want to get my squat up, and get a six pack, and improve my 5K time, and get buff...."

Essentially what most people are all asking for is the same thing.

"I want completeness."

And here is the bubble burst.....you're never going to have it, until you come to an understanding of what goal lives above everything else. Even if it's just for right now, what goal gets separation from all the others.

You cannot find your way without losing it first. You cannot come to an understanding of what is really the most important until you strip away everything else, and stop giving yourself options. Stop giving yourself the option between trying to improve your deadlift AND your 5K time. They both may improve, but not to the degree they would have if you had just become singular minded in becoming great at one.

Strip away all the bullshit, and see what you are left with. That one thing. No matter how hard it might be to let go of those other things that you think you want. Decide what the most important thing in your life is, and chase that with an unbridled fury. Do all of the things you must do, to achieve that victory.

4 comments:

  1. Great post. I have spent too much time not targeting a specific goal. Now I am preparing for my first powerlifting competition (just after my 46th birthday). I look forward to setting my first total and using that as my stepping stone on to bigger and better totals.
    Keep up the good work.
    Ronan.

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  2. Excellent stuff. In the beginning more can be done as far as far as Splitting focus and attention to do a couple of things. However, as the goals increase so does the amount of focus and attention. If one wants to raw squat 750 raw and drug tested with no wraps, then we cannot train for marathons and become astronauts at the same time. We have a hierarchy of of goals with all the lesser goals SUBMITTING to the BOSS OF BOSSES.

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  3. Literally this post came at the perfect time for me. I am in Airborne school right now and as a former powerlifter and football player for 14 years I am having difficulty transitioning to Army PT. I have problems worrying about my Deadlift/squat/bench totals and my long distance running. I realize that running is way more important for Ranger Assesment Selection Program. I have been struggling with loosing muscle and strength but I know what I need to do for my training now. Thank you for posting this!

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  4. Three wheels, strict overhead press.

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