Just Keep Grinding

Just Keep Grinding

The idea for this post came to me about an hour ago.  Today is the Friday before the Christmas holidays.  Christmas being on a Monday this year makes it interesting but whatever, anything is better than a major holiday being on a Wednesday.  So since this is the Friday before the Christmas holiday things are a bit slow at work as you might imagine.  Nowhere is this more apparent than at the gym in the building I work at.

I typically get a late morning workout in since that’s when it’s slower in general.  If possible I like to get out before 11:30AM because by then it’s filling up.  Today I was a little behind schedule so didn’t get in until 11:00AM.  11:30 came and went and nobody had showed up yet.  I finished at 11:45 and headed out and still……………….no one.  While I will never complain about having the place to myself it made it really clear that even the people that are at work, which in my office was still at least 60%, NOBODY showed up to work out.  Probably out getting the holiday lunches started.  Which made me realize the power of just keep grinding.  Say it again.

JUST KEEP GRINDING

Good Things Happen When You Show Up

There’s various version to the quotes about showing up and what it can help you achieve as noted here:

“Eighty percent of success is showing up” – Woody Allen

“90% Of Life is just showing up” – Woody Allen

“Genius is one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration” – Thomas Edison

“Half the battle is just showing up – Stephen Hawking”

When we just keep grinding good things happen.  Look, I get it, it’s hard to stay motivated sometimes.  I’ll fill you in on a personal secret here, lean in and give a listen.  I started this website in July of this year.  It’s been about 5 months, give or take a week.  I just checked my traffic and I am not getting 100 clicks or views a month yet.  I am going to consider that a major goal when I do.  I know it’s not much but it means something to me.  Over the last week this website will get anywhere from zero to 8 page views in a day.  Not too great.  So while I want more people to come and view of course the flip side to that is I am having a really fun time posting my rambling thoughts.  I’ve had all these various ideas and thoughts and what I consider cool things rolling around in my head and building up over the years that it’s great to have a place to share them besides my own journal!!  So despite not having many people taking a look here yet I am having a blast doing it.  Keep grinding and it will happen.  here’s a few things to help.

Make A Schedule – Stay Organized

Personally I have a daily/monthly/yearly book that I use to stay on track.  My wife thinks she’s funny when she asks if I have marked off  “eat lunch” or “shower” for the day.  So I will admit I get a bit controlled and write a lot of stuff down.  For me it works because it keeps me on track.  I write down my weekly goals and then spread it out over the week as well as putting in their actual appointments.  Sunday evening I prep for my upcoming week by reviewing what I want to get done and making time to do it as well as getting a good handle on the upcoming week.  Let’s say I want to life weights 4 times in the upcoming week.  I’ll look at what I have going on during the week and mark the days I am going to life weights.  If I am really on it I’ll block my calendar at works as well so nobody schedules anything over those times.  I find that time blocking works well also.  I really lean on my schedule during times like the last 3 weeks prior to the holidays.  It’s immensely helpful.

Be Future Oriented

I’ve stated this before, you have to keep one eye on the present moment to enjoy life and you also have to keep one eye on the future to achieve what you

wanna achieve.  Very few things spring to life fully formed and ready to rock and roll.  Any successful business takes time and devotion and lots of sweat equity to build.  If you want to build a body that turns heads and provides you with the energy and strength to get shit done it takes time and persistence.  If you want to have a rich and fulfilling marriage you gotta put in the work, day after day, month after month, year after year.  Anything of any real value takes time and persistence to build.  In other words, you just gotta keep showing up to make it happen.  You have to think to yourself where do I want to be one year from now?  And if you know what you want that to look like you gotta figure out a plan to get there and do it over and over and over and over.  You gotta show up everyday.  One day you’re gonna look back on your life and you are either gonna have achieved what you wanted to or you won’t.  Your choice.

Force Yourself

Every Monday late morning the time for my first weekly workout rolls around.  And just about every Monday I consider not working out.  Typically I sleep in a little more than usual Saturday and Sunday morning so it throws my sleep schedule off a bit for getting up Monday morning.  So I am not usually my springiest self on Mondays.  I can’t remember the last time I skipped my workout on Monday.  Even if it’s going through the motions for 30 minutes and lifting light weights I force myself to do it.  And every single time I’m really happy that I made myself do it.

There’s a lot of times when we simply don’t feel like doing something that we said we were going to do.  Get a workout in.  Do the extra yard work.  Take the kids to the park.  Work on your side business for a few hours.  The list goes on and on.  So many times we wind up taking the path of least resistance.  We watch TV.  We scroll our Facebook feeds for 30 minutes.  We play Words with Friends.  We head for the fridge for a beer an hour earlier than we were planning on.  Why?  Because it’s easier.  Come on, don’t always go for what’s easiest.  Force yourself, you’ll thank yourself later.

Remember Where You’ve Been

A really great way to help you keep grinding is to remember where you’ve been.  Take a moment to reflect upon what you’ve achieved.  This action can help give you the kick in the ass you need to keep on keeping on.

When I get a bit bummed than nobody has looked at this website yesterday I have to remind myself of something.  Well, several somethings.  First of all 5 months ago I did not have a CLUE of how to set up a website and write blog posts.  Now I do.  I self taught myself how to do it.  And while I don’t think I have an A+ website by any stretch of the imagination overall I like it.  I’ve created something from nothing and I am having fun doing it.

Same holds true when it’s Monday morning and I don’t want to work out.  I think back on what I’ve achieved over the last year and in my case years.  I have a better body at 50 than I did at 30.  That’s no joke, that’s fact.  And when I am not feeling the workout I remind myself of how amazing it is to be in better shape at 50 than at 30.  And the reason that happened is all because of me.  And then I go pump iron.

Make It Fun

As a final note – make it fun.  I’ve mentioned this before, the key to so many aspects of our lives is to make it fun.  Life is what you make it, choose to make it fun.  Whatever you do, have fun with it.  There’s a lot in life that we have to do to simply do it all over again.  If you dwell on it too much it becomes a drag.  The trick is to make it enjoyable and to have fun doing it.  When you aren’t motivated to work out, do some different exercises or simply do something completely different like shoot some hoops.  When you don’t want to work on that project throw on some Nirvana and crank that shit up real loud.  Get inspired!!

Quote Time

Here’s a great quote from the greatest b-baller of all time (in my opinion) that should help you just keep grinding.

“Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

-Michael Jordan

 

Thanks for listening – now, as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Keep on grinding!!

Mat A.