Ultra Magnitudinem
Beyond Greatness
What do you think of when the word Greatness is mentioned?
A good cheesecake comes to mind, and so does The Roman Empire, The Courage of the 300 Spartans, The Lord of the Rings movies and my BJJ skills (Just kidding although I am great at getting tapped out.)
We look to sporting legends, celebrities, authors, and business moguls and think I wish I was them…
But do you ever wonder what makes you great?
Greatness is Personal to every one of us. If you go to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy I train at (RGAPreston) you’d assume everyone there would aspire to be the Greatest Jiu-Jitsu player in the world, However, that’s far from true.
The range of people is extreme from Barbers to electricians, Builders to Office workers, Police officers to social media managers and everything and everyone in between.
But there is something that makes each and every one of us great.
What that is for you, I don’t know.
But here’s what holding you back –
Lack of action.
We generally wait for motivation to ignition on and kick us into gear, however, that rarely happens and doesn’t last long when it does. When I was younger I’d watch Rocky 4 late at night. I’d start shadowboxing in my room and think ‘I’m going to start boxing again’ However come the morning or late afternoon when I rose out of my pit that motivation was nowhere to be found.
Motivation sucks but Action, regardless of how you feel creates more action. It’s the synovial fluid to your aspirations. It makes the next action so much easier.
My Physio gave me a list of stretches and exercises to aid my many injuries. Man the thought of doing them would earn me a championship trophy in procrastination. But doing them once I’ve got started is easy.
So stop thinking and Just Start.
Pain
You’ve got to code a new website, write a novel, have a big meeting, or you just want to have a good training session. You know each action takes you a step closer to personal greatness. But you can’t focus. Your shoulder has flared up, your neck is tight and your lower back is throbbing.
Nothing holds us back more than pain. Pain just makes us want to stop everything, lie down in a position that hurts the least and put something on the TV that distracts us from our living hell.
Imagine the story of 300 if King Leonidis had to stop every five minutes because of lower back pain. The Persians would have marched through Greece. What are you letting march through your life…
Here is the thing, Hoping it goes away won’t cut it. Not if we want to achieve personal greatness. We have to get on a plan to combat that pain and prevent it from happening again.
Movement is generally the best therapy for pain also lack of it is the cause. Without knowing what your pain is some general advice –
Walk more aim for at least 20 minutes
Train with proper form
Move around if you’ve been sat down too long.
Speak to a physio or other sports therapist depending on the severity of the pain.
Do something – Don’t just hope it goes away.
Finally Health and Fitness
Lack of action or lack of health, chicken or egg?
I’ve been through many periods where I’ve not trained and been unhealthy. I get lethargic, have no energy and no drive, then aches and pains creep in and I eat more junk to give me an energy boost. The more this goes on the less energy I have and the more pain I end up in.
I definitely never had the energy for the quest for personal greatness. If I was Bilbo or Frodo I would have just rolled over in bed and said not today.
It doesn’t matter whether you work in an office, run a company, or stay at stay-at-home parent Health matters.
Being healthy gives us energy.
Energy to run around after your kids. Stay up and code all night, focus on that multi-million-pound deal and everything in between.
Being healthy keeps us away from the Physio and those sports massages… Eating right, sleeping well, moving and exercising will help us recover faster and properly, reduce inflammation and keep the injuries aches and pains at bay
There could be more tips and tricks to achieving personal greatness, but I didn’t think it through before starting.
However, Action, whether that’s action to eat right, going to bed earlier, stretching, working out, going to the physio whatever is the most important. Without action, you cannot become healthier, pain-free, good at your job and so on.
But just as there are good actions there are bad ones too. A bad action is anything that takes you away from personal greatness. Watching YouTube instead of preparing for the meeting. Driving home instead of the gym… Well, you get the picture.
If you want greatness and beyond take action.