You Are Entirely Up To You
Your body and your mind are a blank canvas, what you create with them is up to you.
You could paint an ordinary painting by doing what everyone else does, by putting in the bare minimum number of strokes and using the basic primary colors.
It won't take you long and it won't require the exertion of much effort.
But the ordinary painting will go unnoticed.
Why not paint a masterpiece? Anyone can do it.
You've just got to be willing to go above and beyond those other artists.
You've just got to pay a bit more attention to detail, you've just got to put in more work and you've just got to forego instant gratification and temporary pleasure in the meantime.
You've got to endure hardship and conquer adversity in both the physical and mental sense.
Anyone can do it but very few do.
They want the masterpiece but they don't want to spend the years painting it.
Want To Paint A Masterpiece? Here's How You Do It (And It's Entirely Up To You To Do It!)
If you don't take control and make the choice to change your life and paint that masterpiece you'll end up just like everyone else.
A dull painting.
1.BECOME MENTALLY UNBREAKABLE
1.1 – Cold Showers
Cold showers are the ultimate mental toughness building habit.
Spending 3 – 5 minutes in the shower with the facet tilted as far to the cold side as possible can literally change your life.
It’s mental conditioning, no one is making you stand under that freezing cold water except yourself – this builds mental toughness.
As you step under the freezing cold water your breathing becomes short and sharp, you jump and feel as if you can’t handle the temperature of the water… but it’s all in the mind.
Cold showers are fantastic for your health, from decreased symptoms of depression to boosting testosterone, improving the conditoning of your skin and hair as well as providing you with a surge of energy.
Start each day with a cold shower and any other task or event you encounter that day will be easy by comparison.
1.2 - Fear
Fear is like a disease, it must be acted upon immediately otherwise it can spread throughout your life, leaving you paralysed.
Each time you encounter fear, you must conquer it immediately. Don’t delay or falter as if you do that fear will haunt you.
When we back out of situations, when we make excuses or dismiss an opportunity, not because we don’t want to do it but because we’re fearful of the action or the outcome part of us is lost there. It’s gone.
The takeaway point? if an opportunity presents itself and you begin to experience fear, do it immediately. The longer you allow the fear to set in the harder the thing becomes.
Just like jumping out of a plane, it’s natural to be nervous as our body doesn’t want us to do it, it’s counter-intuitive….
BUT when you’re first up there, preparing to jump, that’s when skydiving is at it’s easiest point. People that spend too long debating, trying to amp themselves up to do it, they’re the ones that often end up coming back down to the ground in the plane, they allow the fear to set in, leaving them in what is essentially a state of paralysis
1.3 - Focus
Mentally toughness comes from focusing on what YOU can control.
During tough times, when adversity strikes and things aren’t going your way instead of wasting your depreciating energy on the situation itself (which you can’t control) opt to expend your energy on that which you can control.
You can’t change the direction of the proverbial wind of life, but you can adjust your sail to steer you into more favorable waters.
2. USE YOUR IRON-LIKE WILL TO BUILD AN IRON-LIKE PHYSIQUE
2.1 – Apply Progressive Overload In The Gym
Just going to the gym and lifting a few light weights or doing a few miles on the treadmill won’t do much at all for your resolve.
If you want to use the gym and exercise as a technique for developing mental toughness (which I recommend you do) then you’re going to need to apply progressive overload in each and every workout, you’re going to need to push yourself to the brink, to the point of no return when you ache, twitch and grunt as the dumbbell slowly rise in a shaking manner on those last two repetitions of your incline dumbbell bench press.
Each and every workout you must be going BEYOND what you did last time.
Progressive overload requires an increase in the tension placed on your muscles, this can be achieved via an increase in the weight you’re lifting, an increase in the number of repetitions you’re performing or a decrease in the rest period between each set. Record it so you know what you’ve got to beat next time.
2.2 – Take Part In Obstacle Races
Regardless of whether you’re into cardio and endurance events, I feel as if everyone should put themselves through their paces in an obstacle run at least once.
Be it the Tough Mudder, True Grit or the Spartan Race – each of these events are built around a series of physical challenges that you would by no means ever encounter in your day-to-day life.
From high rope climbs, crawling under rows of barbed wire, diving through pits of mud and carrying boulders up and down a steep hill… by challenging ourselves and doing these things we’re unsure of, that we don’t know if we’ll be able to achieve… that’s what builds confidence and mental toughness.
Encountering a new experience and conquering it.
These courses may look like they were solely built for fitness, but they were actually constructed for developing that confidence and mental toughness.
The book, ‘Spartan Up!’, the biography of the creator of Spartan Race provides an amazing insight into the mental side of endurance and obstacle racing.
I can guarantee you you will not find an individual who’s completed one of these events that’s a wimp.
You Are Entirely Up To You Poster
Click here to download a printable A4 PDF of the You Are Entirely Up To You Poster. Enjoy!
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