It’s easy to be a hypocrite
I’ve been participating in sport my entire life.
I’m grateful for finding my love for strength training around 18— it’s been a huge part of my life since. It’s wild to think I’ve been lifting weights for over a decade, but that’s the power of loving what you do: the specifics might change, but the practice does not.
When I talk about my fitness, it’s now easy to see that it compounded over a decade of consistent practice + hard work. It’s also important to note that most of that decade was spent doing dumb things. Well-intentioned, but ultimately dumb things.
Fads, bro science, podcaster-levels of dumbness, you name it.
These days, I take a nuanced and scientific approach to fitness, but I’m sure in another 10 years there will be more on my list of dumb things.
But let’s look at another part of my life.
I wake up every day and go to work wondering how I can be better. Disappointed because I’m not where I want to be, fearful that I won’t accomplish what I’d hoped, even scared that I’m doing the wrong stuff.
How is that different from fitness? Did I ever walk into a gym and worry about the future? Think I wouldn’t be allowed to come back? Fear inadequacy?
No, I just showed up and did my best.
And over time, because I’m a curious person, I found a better way of doing things. But the focus was on showing up and doing the work.
It’s easy to be a hypocrite about thing’s you’re already knowledgeable about, but it’s tough to accept the reality of a Beginner’s Mind. It's easy to wait for the perfect time to start, but it's hard to simply do the work.
Show up everyday and ship, regardless of how good your work is.
Find what you love and enjoy the practice. I can guarantee if you do it for a decade, you’ll look back happy on the result.