dream | act | succeed

Stepping over the line? Again? How often do I need to do that?

If you want to reach your goals, for sure there will be a need for you to actually push through. Not all the time, not with everything your are doing, but on some occasions, it is just necessary. Therefore, you better prepare yourself.

Go hard or go home!

A statement you can hear a lot of people using on a regular basis. Life is not supposed to be hard, but sometimes it is necessary for us to endure something. For the sake of a bigger purpose, to show others what we are capable of, or just because you need this in order to reach your goals. How many people do you personally know that seem to have the ability to endure just everything. Pushing through everything that comes their way? If you are that lucky and know such a person, it will be much easier for you to understand how it works.

The mindset is everything, we have already talked about that. You don’t need something else besides the stuff you already have. So, its not the acquiring process that holds you back, but the actual usage of the software. Depending on which goals you have, there will be some barriers for you to overcome. This can be a certain time you need to reach in order to get access to a running event you want to participate in, or to get qualified for the next olympics or something like that. Sure, this can be, relatively speaking a very low barrier or a large wall. It always depends on your goals and where you want to go. But does it change anything? It might change your mindset temporarily, but in general, it doesn’t matter how high the obstacle is. An obstacle is just that, an obstacle.

You need to understand what you are capable of!

Do you think you know yourself? After all those years together. Do you know where your limits are? For the majority of mankind, they don’t know that. The moment is starts to get a little bit more difficult, they are out. They quit, they take the easier way. For sure, that is not that bad of an idea. I mean, nature is build after that principle. Water will always take the easiest root from point A to Point B. The same goes for forces in materials or electricity. But what makes us different is the ability to react upon our instincts. Something tells us to stop, demands from us to stop. STOP! But wait a second! There is also the option to step over the line. To not stop! To go on. Is that dangerous! Of course it is! Going over limits is always a risk you take. You can harm yourself, physically or mentally, you can die, you can harm others, you can put others in danger.

But pushing through doesn’t mean to suffer all the time. Pushing through means to be in control. And this is the only thing there is to know. The moment you are in control, everything becomes so easy. Have you ever wondered how ultra endurance athletes get to where they are? It is not about their genes, or their unique bodies, or what ever. It is their mindset that is different. They are in control. They decide to stop or to go on. Do they take the easiest way from point A to point B? Of course they don’t, what they are doing is starting at point A and arriving at that very same spot some hours later on. Sure, if you parked your car somewhere it would be actually really useful to get back to it, right? But what is the point? The point is that they don’t need to get anywhere. They don’t sit on their roadbike in order to get from point A to point B. It is not about going somewhere, the journey is the important thing. They are running in circles. Try to improve their times, their ability to do what they are doing. Get a little bit better, step by step. Day by day. Do they push through? Does it hurt sometimes? But how often do you do that? How often do you suffer from things you are doing to yourself? Pushing through means increasing your zone of comfort. If I tell someone that I cycle around 60 km in average, normal people would be impressed, but professionals? They would laugh about that. Why? Because for them, 60 km feels like 15 km for me. They got used to it. For them, it is normal.

Why do you think can I endure my daily program? Why can I constantly do so much stuff? Why doesn’t I need to recover? Step back and stop? Not because I am better, not because I have a unique personality. It is simply because I have a healthy attitude towards my limits. I push through! For sure, but not every time! What is the effect? You simply grow. If you use your muscles what do they do? They get harmed and recover by getting bigger, stronger, making better connections. I have just worked on this for the last 5 years. I pushed my boundaries, I move the borders of my own limits. Everyday? No! Of course not! But when it is necessary.

This starts in your head! You need to make the decision to do something and then simply do it. Doubting your abilities? Don’t worry! That is normal! The better you become, the more you doubt yourself! But the thing is not to prevent this from happening, but instead to use this in order to get some momentum. Inspire yourself. That is a skill you just need to have. You need to be able to motivate yourself! There needs to be a higher purpose in your life! A goal you want to reach, a thing you want to do.

Pushing through? Easier said then done, but doesn’t change by talking about it. Step over your limits! Not in an unhealthy way, of course! But just a little bit. You are making 30 push ups? Why don’t you do one more tomorrow? Just do 31? And on the other day? Why don’t you do 32? Its a mental thing! The borders are floating. The limits? They are not where you expect them to be. Before I started cycling I had no clue about that, but after some years you understand the system pretty damn good and how it works.

You can do it if you believe you can!

See you next time!