We all know that exercise is good for your physically and mentally, but there are benefits to exercising that are generally overlooked (and we don’t mean the be...
We all know that exercise is good for your physically and mentally, but there are benefits to exercising that are generally overlooked (and we don’t mean the benefits of getting shredded). Under the surface, there are any number of lessons that you learn and ways that you grow when exercising.
Let’s think about what happens when you start a sport and begin gymming for the first time.
When you arrive, basically everyone else knows more than you, is further along than you, and can (probably) outperform you. That means that the first thing that happens to you when you start is that you’re confronted with your own inadequacy.
That might sound like it’s a bad thing, but it isn’t because it requires that you conquer your own ego – at least, to a certain extent. When you go to the running club for the first time or hit the gym as a newbie, you have to accept that you’re no-where in comparison to everyone else. That’s inherently humbling.
And this is particularly true when it comes to needing to improve and get advice from other people. The people who succeed professionally are not usually too proud to ask the stupid questions and admit that they don’t know something. Sure, it feels bad in the short term, and it might seem like you’re showing yourself up as being inadequate in the moment, but being prepared to approach someone and asking them for advice (whether it’s about bench pressing or something at work) will help you improve faster.
So picking up some exercise teaches us that it’s okay not knowing much at the beginning and that it’s good to ask questions (even the stupid ones).
But there’s more to it. As you get on with going to gym, pick up tennis or whatever, you’ll quickly realise that you’re not going to master anything instantly. It takes time to get good at a sport or build strength, and that’s normal. What you want to do is accept and appreciate the journey that gets you to a place where you’ve made good ground without panicking about not getting good instantly.
This is equally true in business, when you start a new job, or become a parent. No-one (well, almost no-one) is incredible at the start. In this, the lesson that you cannot build all the muscle you want at the start and that you need to learn your body, technique and nutrition to get there transfers remarkably well to other domains of your life.
Don’t be in a rush. That’s the fastest way to pick up bad habits and get injured.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, let’s think about what’s most important when it comes to learning tennis or getting the gains you want in the gym. When you start out, you can be intimidated by how amazing everyone else seems to be and how nice everyone else’s equipment is (and if we’re honest, we probably all want something better than what we already have).
But what’s really important is not how inadequate you are in comparison you are to everyone else, or how much better everyone else’s gear is. Sure, equipment can make a difference (like your Dream Runner apparel), but the thing that will actually get you to your goals is turning up and doing the thing – consistently.
That lesson, that consistently turning up and doing the thing, whether you’re good or not, or the conditions are right or not (and honestly, they’re never truly “right”), or whether you have the “best” equipment or not is what will get you to success.
So w hat are you waiting for? Throw on some of your Dream Runner finery and get out there and do the thing.
