If you woke up tomorrow and were free to do anything you wanted with your life, what would you do and who would you be?

A friend of mine recently shared this gem: “Life's not always going to be as good as you want it to be, it can only be as good as you’ll allow it to be.” At Life Athletics, we often talk about the life we want. But stepping back and reflecting upon the life we’re allowing ourselves to have ... that’s potentially more powerful. 

People become comfortable with the familiar, and while there is a giant industry built on trying to help people change from their previous versions of “normal” into some new and better form, it’s hard to battle against what is familiar. 

We are the way we are because we think that’s the way we are. 

What this means is that we manage ourselves by the image we live so the idea we have of ourselves is the byproduct. We’re only as fit, healthy, happy, or wealthy as we think we should be. Are there exceptions? Certainly, but by and large we all revert to our own self-concept. 

I’ve heard it described as comparing people to a climate-controlled condo. If it gets too cold, the heat comes on and if it gets too hot, the AC turns on. 

This concept has played out in a number of ways in my own life, but I’ve noticed it the most physically. I keep myself reasonably fit. Fit enough that most people comment that I seem athletic, but not really fit enough to amaze myself. I’ll go through periods where I’ll gear up and workout harder, eat cleaner and I’ll see changes and then...become complacent. Traditionally, once I see that I’m in great shape I coast and fall back into “good enough”. Essentially, I am used to seeing myself a certain way, not just in the mirror, but also in terms of how I train, how often, and in any number of habits that keep me looking and acting like “me”. To change my body, I’d have to change my self-perception. 

This brings me to the portion of the post where I address the blog challenge of the day: If you woke up tomorrow and were free to do anything you wanted with your life, what would you do and who would you be? If I woke up free from any constraints, I would be working full time on turning Life Athletics into the tool I know it can be for people. That, and I’d be doing it from a beach... possibly in Bali. The glib answer to whom I’d be is “a Life Athlete”. To be clearer, I’d be decisive, self-assured, and relaxed, while also excited and present to the expanding difference I, and my work, make for people around the world. I’d also be very happy with all of that. 

Why I haven’t done this already is simple enough, and has to do with the first part of this post. I’ve become used to life a certain way and this has kept me doing things the way I’ve done them in the past. In realizing that I’ve held myself back from becoming the physical athlete I could be, I’m now training smarter and seeing the results, while also maintaining a workable schedule. In seeing that I’ve held myself back with Life Athletics, I’m declaring that I’ll be doing the same thing and working smarter to get the results I want in order to make the greatest contribution. How good am I going to allow things to be? 

Extraordinarily good.