If You Do What Everyone Does, You’ll Get What Everyone Gets

Last night at the track I ran pretty hard and pushed myself, and a few minutes after the workout I threw up.

Gross, right?

There was someone else in my group that had “done the same workout” as me, but as we were going through the warmup, the drills, the starts, and the runs, I could see they weren’t putting in full effort. They did 3 sets of runs instead of 4, or stopped doing their drills before 20m, or started without full power.

After the final runs, most people in my group were beat, basically destroyed, lying on the ground. This other person was up and chatting with some other people on the side of the track, looking no worse for wear.

I know, they could have been having a down day, or their body just didn’t recover from the workout the day before. And as an athlete in a pretty individual sport, maybe I should just mind my own business.

But if there is something that you want to be better at, not even be “good” at, just better, why skimp?

Sure, it’s great to get out, get some exercise, and feel like you’re moving. I encourage that!

But for those few moments that you do get moving, even if it’s not to get better, but to do it to move, or to do it to feel the joy of movement or speed or fun, why not embrace whatever your body is capable of doing, and go all in?

For me, whether it’s being back at the track after the long hiatus I took, or my job, or video games, or even just managing the day to day of being bipolar type 2, practice and execution are about the same thing: mastery.

What is the best way?

And to find that best way, I feel that I need to give my best effort and to train with intent. I push myself to give whatever I have in the tank at the moment.

Sometimes I’ll feel that I only have the energy for half a workout, but that doesn’t mean I’ll sandbag the entire thing because I’m feeling tired.

My coach, Rory, likes to give the example of a time he had to run a 300m race. He didn’t really enjoy those at all. They’re hard, because you’re still sprinting, and it’s a LONG way to sprint.

Rory figured that maybe, if he started the race off at 85–90% of his top speed, he’d have more left in the tank for the second half of the race, where he usually struggled.

But when he got to 150m, he tried to run harder, to run faster, but he couldn’t.

The amount of effort he chose to start with was what he was stuck with, and he ended up feeling just as tired, running a slower time, and feeling worse about the whole race because he knew he didn’t put in his maximum available effort.

There’s something to be said for pacing yourself, and taking it easy when things are tough.

But if there’s something you really care about, something you want to achieve, something you want to be BETTER at, don’t skimp on your effort. Because if you start with less than you’ve got, you probably won’t be able to give more halfway through.

If you can only work on it for 5 minutes, or have days dedicated to doing it, put in your maximum effort for whatever moments you have for that thing you care about.

I feel like a lot of people go through life and think that they “deserve the best”, or should just just get what they desire, but when they have opportunities, don’t go all in, don’t put in the effort, and don’t try their best.

I’ve felt those same feelings and thought those same thoughts.

I think everyone has.

But if you do what everyone does, you’ll get what everyone else gets.

And what does everyone get?

Disappointment. Feeling like they’re not improving. Feeling that they’re never going to get better. Feeling that they’re stuck.

And that SUCKS.

So, when it comes to the things you really care about, and the goals you have, put in the effort, the time, the work, that truly matches how much you care. It can be sports, or your relationships with your friends, love, or even just getting out of bed in the morning.

You can’t get better effectively without maximum mental, physical, or emotional effort.

And I know, there will be some days that are off, where you feel like you have almost nothing in the tank. No way to get better at…anything.

Just remember that maximum effort isn’t about being the best.

It’s about being a little better than before using the most of whatever you have right now.

Oh, and if you DO throw up, brush your teeth as soon as you can. That stomach action is hella bad for your teeth.