Fit for Life: Do You Lack Ability? or Drive?

Fit for Life: Do You Lack Ability? or Drive?

Drive vs Ability

Next time you say you can’t do something, stop for a second and ask yourself why.

Is it a matter of drive or ability?

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Because there is a BIG difference between those two circumstances.

When you can’t do something due to ability, it’s because you aren’t physically or mentally capable and that is an acceptable reason for not accomplishing a goal or a task you set out to do.

However, when you say you can’t do something, and it’s due to lack of drive, then that’s just an excuse you keep telling yourself. In that instance, saying “I can’t” is unacceptable.

Let’s go over some different scenarios and look at the difference between lack of drive and ability.

 

Example 1: You set out to climb Mt. Everest so you prepare for years.

You buy all the best gear, train appropriately, read and research when the peak weeks are to reach the summit, then set a plan of attack.

You arrive at base camp ready to go, check your gear one last time then set out on your adventure. One night into your climb, you get an extreme storm and must turn back.

You missed your window and now can’t continue your voyage.

Was this due to lack of drive? Absolutely not. Not many people can climb Everest in perfect conditions, and you were hit with an unexpected storm, so your ability to complete the trek diminished.

 

Flipside scenario #2: You join a 6-week challenge at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp.

You go into week 1 on fire by prepping your meals, buying new sneakers, and workout gear, and scheduling your workouts a week out.

You show up for every workout and you feel more amazing after each one.

You can’t wait to see your results after the 6 weeks is over.

You get on the scale on Friday, and you are down 2.5 lbs.

Week 2 rolls around and the same thing happens. You are still on fire and at the end of the week you get the same result. Down weight and inches and feeling fantastic.

Week 4 rolls around and you loosen your standards.

Instead of prepping your meals and logging them every day, you wing it a couple of days and eat out. You scheduled your workouts, but you missed one because you left work a little late.

Now Friday rolls around and you are the same weight as last week, so you don’t bother filling out your progress report and now your coach can’t see where things went wrong.

The weekend comes and you fall off a bit more and have a few drinks.

The challenge ends, and you didn’t get the results you envisioned for yourself, so you come to the determination that you “can’t” lose weight as easy as you used to, so you give up all together. You lost your drive.

The concept of that story is to explain the difference between ability and drive.

 

We can do a lot of great things for ourselves, the problem is that most of us lack the drive, and it’s much easier to throw our hands in the air and say, “I just can’t do it”.

I have been following the Muhammed Ali story, and it tells a fight-by-fight story of his life.

When he lost to Leon Spinks, it was a matter of drive. He didn’t train for the fight and took it easy because his opponent was inexperienced. He lacked drive and realized he couldn’t win based on ability alone, so he got his drive back, went back to his training, and won the second fight.

Fast forward to his last 2 fights.

He got destroyed because he was old, broken, and didn’t have the ability to stand in the ring with younger, stronger, and hungrier opponents. He lost his ability as a great fighter, despite the drive to win the title again.

(BTW), It was depressing to watch a great career end that way, and it was hard to watch someone with such great ability try to stay in the game too long.

Some other examples of drive vs ability are…

You may have the drive to be an NBA player, but if you are 5’7” then the ability to hang with 6ft + people is most likely beyond your ability. (It has been done, but by very few.)

Or you may have the drive to be a major league pitcher but can’t throw over 80 mph despite how hard you are trying. That’s lack of ability.

You can eat right and exercise, but you don’t have the drive.

EVERYONE has the ability to do this, and this is the most frustrating part of being a fitness coach.

We know deep in our hearts that we can help everyone; however, we can’t want it more than you do. We can supply the encouragement, knowledge, and coaching, but we can’t install drive.

You either do it or you don’t, there is no try.

You are either shopping, prepping healthy meals to eat and hitting the gym, or you are not, there is no try.

You are either showing up at the gym or looking for excuses not to. There is no try.

So, what gives us drive?

In my opinion, you need to want something so bad that you will do anything in your power to achieve it, or you need to be in enough pain to develop the drive to do it.

You visit the doctor, and realize you are a health risk and won’t be around to see your kid graduate high school.

That’s something every parent wants and will usually do anything in their power to be able to see.

Your knees & back hurt because you are overweight. That’s the pain that instills the drive to make a change.

So, as I said at the beginning of this article, the next time you find yourself using the words “I can’t”, stop for a second and ask yourself: Is it due to drive or ability.

If it’s ability, that’s ok, however, if its drive, change your words to “I just don’t want it bad enough, and don’t have the drive”.

 

Committed to your success,

Coach Matt