Mike Tarrolly — Co-host of the Crushing Iron Podcast
There is an onslaught of information out there and it can really tie you in a knot with regard to living our purpose.
I’m a “victim” of overanalyzing at times. I’ll sit on YouTube, see a headline, and just KNOW that is going to solve my “problem” at the time. Invariably, it doesn’t hit the spot and I move onto another one.
I used to do the same thing with bookstores. I’d feel this insatiable urge to go get a book that was going to help me sort out my life. I’d be there in Barnes and Noble sifting through titles for about an hour and usually come back to one premise: I already know what I need to do, I just need to do it.
—–
YouTube is loaded with regular people sitting on their couch telling you how you should live your life. And it’s very tempting and it can definitely be a short term solution when you’re looking for some juice.
The insinuation is, we all have problems or aren’t living right or aren’t being a strong enough person. We go into it from a “less-than” mindset, but then we do a few things and suddenly we’re a badass.
But it rarely sticks.
And that’s why I’m back at square one in a sense, by listening to my gut.
We all know the answer and would be better served by cutting out the noise and paying attention to what’s important in our own lives.
Take the podcast we do, for example. If we really “tried” to make it blow up and go viral, I’m 99% sure we wouldn’t be doing it anymore. We get Skype twice a week, throw around a couple loose ideas, and go for it. No real pressure, we just talk about stuff we’re passionate about. And we treat it as therapy in a loose conversation. It could easily become an “obligation” be we both enjoy doing it.
And somewhere along the line simply enjoying something became a negative.
So, let’s take that to the next level with training.
Training is a funny word. By definition it means teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies.
The key words in that definition are “useful competencies.”
Is what we’re doing helping us get better at triathlon, or more specifically better at life?
As a coach that’s very important to me because it’s not uncommon to see athletes fall off the cliff during training. They vanish from Training Peaks only to come back a few weeks later and say they needed a break. I never judge because I do the same thing at times. The real question is . . . why?
This morning I had a plan to start Andrew Huberman’s morning routine. It’s something I think is powerful and would like to build the habit. Essentially it is this:
- A glass of water with a little salt upon waking
- Cold plunge or shower
- No coffee until 60-90 minutes after waking up
- Light activity for 30 minutes
- Then dive into your work
I seriously do think that’s a good plan, and I even felt pretty good this morning. But . . . it was 0 degrees in the garage where my plunge tank sits and the idea of drinking water and sitting in freezing water didn’t make me too happy. And I sort of felt like coffee.
I was literally walking around trying to convince myself to start this program. I was moving slowly and I felt good. I felt in control of my life. I felt like, “you know, I don’t want to do this right now, and what’s wrong with that?”
Art Bell wrote a book called “The Quickening,” and while I didn’t read it all, the concept has always been fascinating to me. Modern life moves so fast and I feel like we can get trapped in the pacing. It’s like continually living in a mental Zone 3 or 4 without realizing it.
Time is running out! Don’t waste your life! Regrets kill!
All of these things are constantly shoved in our face and disguised as nurturing advice, but listen to people at the end of their lives talk about what’s important and it’s usually stuff like spending times with friends and family, not working so hard, taking more time for their hobbies.
So, I didn’t do the morning plan today and actually wrote a note next to each activity that said “ease in.” The hard core motivators will say I missed my chance, but I have come around to the point where I think the best habits are built from love.
The funny part is, I didn’t even need Huberman or science to realize this is a morning routine that will serve me well. It’s been in my head for a long time.
And that’s why I truly think all of this has to start from within by slowing ourselves down and listening to the gut. Are we fighting the current of our own body and mind because someone else told us we should do it, or are we nourishing our own instincts by giving them a chance to breathe?
I think we often have this quest for perfection but don’t really even understand what that means. Everything is perfect, even when it’s kinda fucked up. And, most importantly, it’s okay to simply feel good without putting yourself into a pain chamber to prove it.
Email me: [email protected]