Fit for Life: I’m Struggling Here

Fit for Life: I’m Struggling Here

I’m struggling.

But aren’t we all?

Somewhere somehow you are struggling with something.

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•You hate your job, and you struggle to drag yourself in during the day.

•You hate waking up in the morning, so you struggle to get out of bed.

•You have no discipline when it comes to food, so you are struggling with your weight.

•You struggle to stop smoking, so your health is at risk.

•You have kids that don’t listen to you, so you are struggling with parenting.

 

The thing is, you are human, and you are not alone.

There is nothing wrong with you and your life doesn’t suck.

That’s the good news.

 

The bad news is that I don’t have an answer or way to fix it, because when we resolve one thing we struggle with, something else will come along, so it’s a never-ending battle.

What I can do is share some of my own tactics and give you some ideas on how to struggle less with what is in front of you now. Hopefully, that will help resolve some immediate issues you are facing.

First, let’s be real and face the fact that life is hard and to be successful you need to do hard things.

In business, you need to outwork your competition, and that usually means staying one step in front of everyone. You need to keep creating new things because your competition will copy everything you do.

It’s a struggle when you pay for experts to guide and coach you, and someone just takes the easy way and emulates everything you do, so the best way to combat that is to always be thinking and evolving.

Realizing that nothing is easy, and to succeed you need to work hard, smart, and efficiently helps me struggle less mentally. I know that as a team we need to lace up the gloves and come out swinging daily, so be prepared for the struggle helps lessen the stress and anxiety that comes with it.

 

You need to work out at least 3 days a week to see results, but you struggle to get to the gym.

You are not alone. News flash … most people don’t like to work out, or dedicate the time to do it, however, the ones that are successful do it anyway. When you struggle with something this important, you really need to weigh the benefits over not getting it done.

Personally, I hate to work out. Yes, that’s right, Coach Matt, the one that always writes about the benefits of fitness doesn’t like doing it. I embrace it, do it daily, and love the feeling of accomplishment when I’m done, but the process sucks. You exert yourself, sweat, and devote hours per week moving around the gym. Doesn’t that sound fun? Hell no, but I love the fact that at 53, I am in great shape and my health and vitals are as good if not better than folks half my age. That gets me through the struggle.

 

This is extremely difficult because most people’s human nature is to seek comfort or the path of least resistance. Look at how many people are unhealthy and are struggling to get by. This is because many will give up, make excuses, or cry victim as opposed to digging a little deeper and working through their struggles.

When I did a 75-hour training called The Project, we were forced to struggle physically, mentally, and emotionally the entire time. It was a mini–Hell Week that forced us to either fight through the struggles or ring the bell and quit. Almost 40% of the men that join, end up ringing the bell because they couldn’t endure the process either physically or mentally.

 

The 4 main things we are taught to focus on in The Project are: Fitness, Finances, Family, and Faith. When you get those 4 in line, you will live a life of Fulfillment and struggle less daily.

Fitness is essential for many reasons. I don’t have an issue in this area, but many people do. It will benefit you from a health perspective and also earn you more respect and credibility in your everyday life. How can you lead people if you don’t have the discipline to lead yourself and take care of your own health?

Look at the top leaders in most companies, they take care of themselves and their health. They are more likely to command the respect of others and be more productive when they show up, because they display discipline, hard work and are responsible for their own health.

 

Finances will pay for convenience and freedom, enabling us to struggle less. I just hired a coach for this because I struggle in this area. I can generate money, but I am bad at keeping it and managing it, therefore I needed to seek an expert to help me allocate my funds and save better.

I was talking to my mother the other day and she was critiquing the fact that I pay for prepared meals, someone to do my landscaping and clean my house. Basically, I pay for tasks that I would struggle to complete due to my work schedule.

These things don’t cost a lot, yet they free up a lot of my time so I can focus on growing my business and leading my team. I think it’s a great ROI, and I struggle less by not having to devote hours per week accomplishing these tasks.

 

Family can sometimes drive us crazy. However, they are there, and we need to acknowledge the fact that even if it’s a struggle, we love them and need to stay engaged. You can have edited relationships with family and stay away from conflict if you try.

I don’t agree with either of my parents’ political views, so when the conversation goes there, I either change the subject or leave. No need to argue or get stressed out with family. Just edit your relationship and you will struggle and stress less.

 

Faith gets rattled when struggles arise, however, look at where you are, and have faith in your ability.

I know that when I am struggling with adversity or problems, I look for solutions, and realize that I have conquered many obstacles in life, so I can take this on and be ok.

 

Don’t let your struggles linger and tear you up.

Attack them head-on, otherwise, they will just fester and get worse.

Do hard shit daily. Find things you don’t like to do and do them anyway. This will make real-world struggles more manageable.

Every day, I take a cold shower. I hate the cold water hitting me after I just washed up with warm water, but I psyche myself up to do it anyway. I do this because I want to control some of the suck factors in life, and it trains me to be resilient to small issues that arise daily.

Last year I set a goal to work out outside on Tuesday, Friday, and Sundays, all year round. I picked specific days so I can’t be selective due to the weather. If it’s raining out Tuesday, I will be working out in the rain, and NOT waiting for a nice day.

This is a struggle, but again, it will train my discipline and resiliency.

So, when you struggle, realize you are not a minority. We all struggle daily. Life isn’t easy for too many people, however, the ones with the right mindset will prevail every time.

I have said it before and will say it again, no one is entitled to an easy life, so embrace the struggle and keep pushing on.

 

Coach Matt