The gym was my foray into personal growth as a young teen.
Once that became a core part of my identity, I realized I had a mostly unexplored frontier of personal growth… my mind.
I had to start making the inside as pretty as the outside was.
I like to document some of my personal growth in my training log(s), partially just for me, but also in hopes it has a positive impact on others too.
So this is me asking you to share some of the wisdom you’ve accrued over your years, and any stories that brought you to these revelations.
This is not specific to lifting, diet, nutrition, etc. but can include these topics if they really were life-changing
This topic has no end-date so feel free to revive the thread anytime you have a personal development breakthrough.
Constant seeking of enjoyment and happiness leads to misery.
This is cliché and like 3000 years old wisdom, but it’s something most people (myself included) need to figure out sooner than later. Specially during these times of excess.
You really can talk your way into just about anything.
Growing up, was taught that everything very much had a process. If you want to do something, you work hard and take and the steps to get there after years of hard work and dedication. And don’t get me wrong, that has been the vast majority of my life, and it has paid dividends. But as I’m approaching my 30s and looking to expand out in career and social circles, I’m realizing that I can get me door in a LOT of places that years of education and work experience would struggle to open up if I simply find the right folks, dress well, crack a few jokes, and make myself the type of person they want to have around. (Not just as a funny guy, definitely as an asset to projects, fundraisers, etc.) There is a lot to be said for earning your stripes the “right way,” but damn there’s a lot to be said for just shmoozing yourself into some great opportunities.
I think the other one that comes to mind which may be a much more “me thing” than the last is the concept of “you can just do things.” I think so many people, and certainly myself, fall into this trap of wanting to do things and just never actually starting, because there is always a thousand reasons to delay starting something. And then you end up being that suburban couple with no hobbies who anxiously awaits for the new season of NCIS to come out so you and your spouse finally have a shared interest to occupy your time rather than just scrolling on your phones. (This is an absolutely hysterical inside reference that literally no one on this forum will get, but god I’m chuckling to myself, and that’s what matters.)
Last few years I felt Into this trap pretty badly. To be fair, I was working insane hours and deployed in that time frame, so there was some actual hurdles to starting stuff. But now that I’ve got some time? I decided I was just going to flat out do all these things I always dreamed about. And it’s been great. Started skeet shooting with some old friends. Currently planning a trip with my wife to climb Kilimanjaro. Applying to join the explorers club and see if I can get myself onto an expedition. Hell, even thinking about flight lessons. (Still gotta get the Mrs on board for that one, her latest reply was “you have crashed 3 motorcycles, there’s no way I’m letting you repeat that record with a plane” which… is fair)
But that’s another one I suppose. “You can just do things”
Edit: I’m realizing idk how “harsh” these are. But I spent too much time writing all that, so it’s staying lol
That can be a harsh realization if you’ve spent a long time thinking that you can’t do something because it seems out of reach, too complicated, “for other people”.
I spent a long time thinking I was an idiot, and school or learning wasn’t for “people like me”. That was a lot of untrue and unnecessary self flagellation. I had a lot of stuff to work through, but being dumb wasn’t the problem.
Its like- “Harsh truth, you arent stupid.”
“Ok, then whats the problem?”
“Another harsh truth. You’re definitely an asshole.”.
Nobody actually knows what they’re doing, we’re all just winging it!!
I’m 39 and i think i only started to realise this over the last 5 years or so.
I grew up looking at everyone else thinking they had their life together, knew exactly what they were doing, and if somebody in a position of ‘experience’ said something then, well they must know better than i do.
This probably comes from a place of a lack of confidence, but the more people i talk to, the more i realise everyone else is as clueless as me
