I have talked a lot about spending time creating a future vision for yourself. What are you going to be at some point in the future? Who are you going to be? What will you look like? What exactly will you be doing? What will you be wearing? Who will be there? I have talked about picking a specific moment that you create a vision for in the future. One of mine was imagining the finish line at a marathon event. Interestingly enough, my future vision became a reality.
Having that vision is critical, and the more focused on that vision you become it transforms into a memory. It is almost like that future state has become your past, because you remember the vision in all the detail. There are tricks to getting this in place. Some have talked about creating a story board or visualization board. I prefer the concept of remembering that specific event and then creating a symbol for that event. Whenever I remember that symbol a flood of memories of my future vision fill my head.
I bring this up because I take for granted now how I use that symbolizing and vision of the future as a tool to remind myself just how important something is. This morning, 5am came quickly and I was a little sluggish. Now I could have went back to bed. I also could have just sat on the edge of the bed for an hour. I could have just stumbled my way downstairs and poured myself a bowl of sugar and hoped that would help me. No instead, I am engaged in my routine and I am getting ready to head out the door for the first of two runs today. Running this morning, then at night with a big long run tomorrow morning. This is going to be brutal! I love it! Embrace the Suck!
So how do I decide to just get up off the edge of the bed and grab the running shoes instead of the bowl of sugar? I consider this, just how important is that future vision really? Is it so important that I will sacrifice a small amount of discomfort? I am not dying here. I am not sick. I am able bodied, healthy, and have tons of energy in reserve. I can get out of bed and get going. I am more then capable. It is my mind that is weak. So, I bring that vision back to my mind and ask myself, do I really want that to happen? How badly? Bad enough to suck it up and get out the freaking door?
I think we really need to check this part of our primal instinct. Let this part of you get in control and you will just be lazy and avoid all pain, all risk, all discomfort. It is a primal instinct designed to protect you. However, there is nothing life threatening and this instinct needs to be overcome with a desire to improve. I believe you have to actively remind yourself of this desire, this passion. It does not just stay with you. You have to bring it back and be prepared to do so at the right moment. Goggins refers to it as reaching into the cookie jar. Call it what you want, but you need that ready to go motivation, vision that you can bring back to your mind and overcome that instinct that is trying to convince you that you cannot, you should not, you will not, you better not.
Well I am. It is really important, so important that I am signing off this blog right now and going straight out the door and get my morning run in. What are you going to do this morning to achieve your vision?
Guy Reams
