December 1, 2013
Learning from PAIN… not the kind of pain you are thinking of!
Change is hard. That’s why people fight it so much. The biggest changes in our lives often come from the most painful moments. A painful catalyst ignites the momentum of change. We fight so hard not to change, but it’s inevitable. Life IS change. The more you fight it, the more it pushes back. The avalanche is coming.
Pain is a motivator. Disgust is a motivator. People are motivated by the fear of loss way more than the pleasure of gain. Disgust was the motivator for me to start bodybuilding.
As a teenager I was an obese, shy and introverted kid with glasses. I was the ‘fat kid’ you see in movies that people made fun of, bullied and teased. I was picked on and teased relentlessly in my teenage years. People see me now and say, ‘No way! I can’t imagine you looking like that.” (We all have our inner demons that people never see on the outside)
I had just lost my father to cancer and moved to Northern New Jersey from the deep south of Virginia. You can imagine this overweight and painfully shy kid coming to New Jersey with a deep southern accent and no sense of self esteem or confidence. My life just got worse. The bullying escalated. I introverted even more.
Until….
I saw Pumping Iron and my life changed. I saw Arnold Schwarzenneger and what he was able to do with his life by changing his physical body. He used bodybuilding as the catalyst to get himself out of pain. I will too. I embraced all the bullying and teasing moments of my life. They were the catalyst for my change. I took that pain and turned it into power. From that moment on, I was a different person. Learning to change my body by the choice of exercising and good nutrition was incredible. I learned I could change every aspect of my life by MY actions.
So you see, bodybuilding (or any exercise you love to do…it can be anything) is not just about lifting something up and putting something down..oh no far from it. Bodybuilding changes the direction and course of your life. The principles of bodybuilding made me who I am today…,dedication, commitment, sacrifice, goal setting, planning, and never quitting. EMBRACE THE PAIN!
That’s why I love teaching people to change their lives via exercise and movement, especially kids. Learning THEY have control over how they look and feel is transformational. Seeing a kids face when they can do their first pushup or pull-up is priceless. That’s the shit that changes their life, not learning how the industrial economy of the early 20th century contributed to the economic boom. Who gives a shit? The educational system better wakeup! Realize what really matters. The kid will remember that pushup and how it made him feel. He will forget the economic boom. Fact!
In my opinion, fitness professional are life changers! Never forget how much power you have to completely alter a persons’ life. Treasure that responsibility. Never trivialize it. You my friends are the catalyst.
