“She lasted seven minutes. It was awful,” he said.
That’s my buddy, Garrett. He wears dumb shoes and has a huge smile. I have never seen him drink water or eat a salad much less exercise.
“Are y’all going to do it again?” I asked him.
“Yes. We have two more free classes!” he replied.
Garrett and his new wife Rosane decided to start exercising for the new year. You know…get fit, lose weight, look good in a bikini, blah, blah, blah.
So they signed up for spin classes.
The thing about starting new things is it sucks. When it sucks, we usually quit. When we quit, we never get to the point where it doesn’t suck. Physics, I guess.
“There were 24 people in the class. I was the only male,” he continued.
They signed up for three free classes.
“Seven minutes into the class Rosane passed out,” he said.
“What do you mean she passed out?” I asked.
“Blacked out! They had to unclip her feet from the peddles and carry her out of the class!” He laughed.
God almighty.
“They sent out the results from the class afterward. Of the 24 people, we came in last and second to last,” he laughed again.
Doing new things is hard. It is hard because it’s new and we usually suck at it.
My first book was ok, not great. I wanted it to be great. In my mind, I thought it would be great because I think I am a good writer. I assumed it would sell millions of copies and people would say I changed their lives…
Well, that shit didn’t happen.
So, in order to write a great book, I need to keep writing books. Physics, again.
The gap between where we start and where we end is the graveyard of effort for most people. It is a long, hard road with bumps and bruises, especially to the ego. Those that stay on the road end up successful.
A lesson Garrett taught me a few years ago is “permission to be awful”. He said we have to give ourselves permission to be awful when we start new things: the new blog, the new business, the new book, or the new exercise program. If we are “ok” with being awful then we can get better.
If you want to start something new this year whether it is a blog or podcast or book or fitness class make sure you give yourself permission to be awful. It is liberating.
Decide you will try a set a number of times before you allow yourself to quit.
Perseverance. Grit. Persistence.
Get back on those bikes, Garrett and Rosane. Let’s go for eight minutes this time!
Trey
Hahahaha dead ☠️💀