I recently stumbled upon a fork in the road. One way led down a nice, even dirt road with the promise of comfort at the end. The other led to a rocky path with questionable footing and the challenging creek crossings, but would lead to success at the end. I could either continue on the path I was on and be comfortable or choose to rougher route and have faith in myself that I would ultimately reach the the end.

One of the things working out at Flow has taught me is to be okay with being uncomfortable. That’s how we get better in our fitness, and it’s an important lesson in life. We need to push our limit to make an adaptation occur, that’s how we get stronger. We need to take risks to reap rewards. The nice, even road is great every once in a while, but spend too long on it and you’ll grow complacent. Opportunities may present themselves along that nice road, but if you’re too comfortable with where you’re at, you’ll be left to wonder “what if…?” later on.

I’ve chosen to climb. I may not climb straight up, I may zig zag, I may stumble and lose my footing, but I’ll be moving up and making progress nonetheless.

​Wolfie

Most people who are involved with sports or training in general have specific goals that they want to hit. It never seems to be a problem deciding on what the goal is, but rather, the problem is in the actual reaching of the goal. I believe people don’t always reach their goals because they simply fail to lay out an actual plan for getting there. The old adage of those who fail to plan, plan to fail is very true. I believe there are 6 steps that can help you reach any goal you have. I call it the B.A.D A.S.S Method.

BELIEVE- that you can reach whatever goal you set for yourself. If you are going to achieve any goal be it a new deadlift max, winning a competition, gaining or losing weight, you must believe that you can. There is no other option. If you fail at this step there is no step 2. Believing in yourself is what will lead to the next two steps.

ACTIONS-Take the necessary actions to reach that goal. Its not enough to say this is my goal, you must next get to work on the very steps that will lead to it. If I wanted to walk from Ohio to Colorado I would have to actually take a first step. The first actions should be writing down your goal. Then break down that big goal into smaller goals, and then make a plan necessary to reach each small goal. Studies show that you are significantly more likely to reach a goal by writing it down. Once you have your goals and plan written down its time to start implementing the plan and take action.

DISCIPLINE- Its not enough to write down a goal and do the actions once or twice, you must have self discipline to continue those actions over and over again until the goal is reached. Self discipline has been described as the ability to force ones self to do something even when you don’t want to. That means preparing that food, not missing your training, doing your stretching and myofascial release even when you don’t want to. No one has ever reached any great goal without self discipline. It is perhaps the single most common attribute of successful athletes.

Now with these three steps alone I believe you can achieve alot and go far. But I believe there are still 3 more steps that can be taken. That’s right its the A.S.S portion of B.A.D A.S.S.

ASSESS-Once you have taken the actions and maintained discipline for a good amount of time you should step back and assess what is working and what isn’t. This doesn’t mean try a nutrition or training program for a week or 2 and declare that it does or doesn’t work. It means really giving something a shot and then taking a step back and see where you are at. Everybody is different and even on the Starting Strength or 5/3/1 I know some things will work for some and not for others. The goal is to identify those things for yourself.

SIMPLIFY-Now that you have assessed what is working and what isn’t its time to trim the fat. This doesn’t mean make things easier, or do less, it simply means cut out what isn’t working to reach your goal and replace it with more of what is. Not everything is going to help and through trial and error you will learn how to streamline your plan in order to reach your goal.

STAY THE COURSE- If you want to reach your goal you must sell out to it. When things get tough and life gets in the way, or you have some failures despite following all of the other steps, you have to pick yourself up and soldier on. This is why belief is the very first step. If you believe in yourself you will press on and ultimately reach that goal that you knew you could. In my own life I believe in myself because I believe in the one who created me. It is in that belief that I find my strength to press on.

Be honest with yourself about if you are really taking all of the steps to reach your goals. If not I believe you can follow these steps and be well on your way to reaching B.A.D A.S.S goals.

Wolfie

Sta·tion
Verb
 1.
put in or assign to a specified place for a particular purpose.

This is not an accident.

All things have their order. There are stages of progression, requirements for advancement… too often though, people put the cart before the horse. We want so badly that we forget what we have. Where we are. Our hearts and heads tweak tiny knobs as if we have earned the right, like adjusting the star on a tree we never bothered to put up…

I am not being clear…

This is the time of year for plans. For quick tips and ten easy ways. We make promises. We plot and we scheme… we spend so much time looking for the advantage, the secret, the shortcut. We want to feel special. We want a program…

The truth is, if you suck at something you don’t need a program, you just need to do it. Seriously… if there is something that you are terrible at, something you want to learn how to do, you probably do not need lessons or a coach – you just need to show up and do the thing. Sure, it helps to ask questions, to watch someone who is truly proficient, but chances are you are not even good enough to make use of formal training. This is not an insult – all things have their order. Their cost. There are big, simple lessons that are only really learned in the doing.  People call me because they want to do some type of event – not win one, not place better, but simply finish one. They do not need a gym; they need a rack, a pair of rucking shoes, and a team to train with. They just need to learn not to quit. Over and over, not to quit. Make it a habit, not to quit. They would do well to have a friend to work with them, but that’s it. It is startling how proficient you can become when you stop looking for shortcuts and start spending that time and energy on doing the work.

The fitness industry, the diet industry, so much is built on selling plans to people who will never execute them. On cashing in on someones hopes instead of telling them the truth, telling them to step back and build a bit of a foundation. Don’t get me wrong, plans often help – but in this age of cell phones and youtube, I don’t believe anyone who claims that they can’t do something because of lack of information. We over think things. We paralyze ourselves with data points and search for the newest trick, for something to give us an edge – forgetting that we are trying to sharpen a tool that we don’t even possess. To put it simply, when you truly suck at something it doesn’t matter what you do, it matters that you do it. If you want to get better at writing – write. If you want to be a better runner – run. Don’t talk about it. Don’t post about it on the fucking internet. Just do the thing. Do it a lot. Do it for a couple months, silently, diligently, consistently. Some days will be hard. You will have questions. Try and work through it, try and solve your own problems. Do your homework and then ask someone for help. Having that base will allow you to make use of information instead of simply consuming it. You may also be surprised by how many charlatans there are, so called experts are selling advice on shit they know nothing about. Being able to ask good questions will help you spot the bullshitters, and it will get you noticed by people who can actually help. Willingness to work will open doors. Will make the right people take you seriously. Because the people who know what they are doing are busy. Their time has value. They know it, and nothing is more offensive to a busy person than wasting their time. 

​Wolfie

Over the years friends come and go.
 
The friends who were so important to you in high school and college have now dwindled down to a select few. They’re the ones who have been there to support you through the tough times and make fun of you when you were feeling good about yourself. Not to mention helping you launder money from that bank heist back in 2003.
 
The point is that sometimes the thought of going through the mundaneness of day-to-day activities would be overwhelming if you didn’t have your friends there supporting you.
 
Not only your friends, but your family.
 
These two groups form your wolf pack.
 
To know that these guys and girls would do anything for you and help you when you need it will give you the strength to carry on when you’re tired or doubting yourself.
 
It makes you feel amazing, almost like you’re invincible sometimes.
The bonds we form and the friendships we make reveal our character in many ways. What are our friends like? Are we actively working to fortify our relationships with our friends and family and bring out the best in them, as they are trying to do for you? Isn’t that our responsibility as part of their wolf pack?
 
And more importantly…
When was the last time you offered a random stranger a hand when it looked like they needed a friend? Not everyone has the luxury to have the love and support that many of us take for granted. When was the last time you took action to Pay it Forward? I’m talking about giving to someone unexpectedly and not telling anyone about it? Giving someone a kind look when they are stressed, paying for the person behind you at the toll booth or even volunteering your time to others – these are so simple to do, but we miss these opportunities everyday.
 
Dare to Be Great
So what are you doing with all of this support? Are you living up to your potential? If you’re not, you better take a hard look in the mirror because you have responsibilities.  Not only to yourself, but to those who are giving you their unconditional love and support. If you aren’t doing everything in your power everyday to challenge yourself and go for your dreams, then you’re letting yourself down and you’re letting your wolf pack down.
 
That is the bottom line.
 
And what happens if you are getting it done everyday? Do you quit when you reach one goal?
 
Eric Thomas talks of an old Emmitt Smith commercial where he had just won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. In the commercial, Emmitt was bench pressing and stated “Now I can rest.”
 
He won the Super Bowl and now he can rest.
 
So when he was bench pressing, he paused at the lockout for 2 seconds, and then continued the set.
 
That was his rest period.
 
Just that 2 seconds.
 
It tells you something about champions. They are relentless over-achievers who are never satisfied. You’ll find in life, those who are successful, share this same trait.
 
They’re not happy with average.
 
They don’t miss opportunities.
 
If you have the support in your life and you’re not paying it forward, you’re missing the opportunity to be the best part of someone’s day. And that small act of kindness, could change the course of someone else’s life in an instant. Finally, show your wolf pack respect by achieving all of the great things they always believed you could achieve.

​Wolfie

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answers “Man. Because he sacrifices his health to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

It is really funny what you can get used to. Remember, when Conan was placed on the grind stone and forced to walk around. It seemed insurmountable and unthinkable that one person could push that massive wheel. Little by little, after all the weaklings died off, Conan was left pushing it by himself.

​Yes, that really happened.
 
What about Milo, who carried the calf every day? As the calf grew, his strength grew – little by little. But we’re not talking about training today, we’re talking about life.
 
The things that you said you would never do, you are doing now. The small decisions you have made everyday in your life have led you here.  
 
You said you would never end up at (insert the job you’re working, the shape you’re in or the whatever you’ve feared). 
 
The Turning Point
When did it all become so common to take the easy way out?
 
I was telling someone the other day how I lost at a particular “challenge” in the weightroom.
 
They said, “Why are you torturing yourself?”
 
Just a harmless comment, right?
 
But after I thought about it, I was enraged and sad at the same time.
Sad that they didn’t understand how fleeting life is and that they would never know what it feels like to win a challenge or to hit a goal. That sadness turned into rage when I thought about how society accepts this mindset. We have, over the course of time, accepted defeat so many times that, little by little, it is just an afterthought.
 
Competitive drive has been replaced with complacency. Relentlessness has been replaced with lack of focus and the honorable mention ribbon.
What happened to not settling for 2nd place? What happened to - if I lose, I will work harder?
 
Why am I torturing myself?
 
Probably because I hate losing and want to keep challenging myself and getting better everyday.
 
We are all dying, very slowly everyday – that is a cold hard fact. But are you really living?

When is the last time you felt alive?
When is the last time your heart was beating out of your chest?
When was the last time you took a pair of kettlebells and walked with them until your arms fell off?
When was the last time you did burpees until you passed out?
When was the last time you did pull-ups until you were just hanging from the bar?
When was the last time you did something someone told you that you could never do.
Just do something!
Live, because you haven’t “been awake” in a while.
Live with a sense of urgency.
Live like your kids are taking notes on how they should live.
Live like there is no tomorrow.
Live.

​Wolfie