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By
Phil Stevens |
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We all face adversity in our
training and life. Many people dread it or harp about it.
I feel that adversity in most any form is what makes us truly
advance.
It's by facing and dealing with
these time that we truly find out what we love, our passions.
If you are unable or unwilling to deal with the adversity
you receive in / from an activity or lifestyle you choose,
then that’s a great sign you're doing the wrong thing.
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Doubt, fear, frustration is OK and
to be expected at times but it overall you should still have a love
and drive to do what you are doing if its something you really enjoy.
If in the stead your constantly questioning
yourself, the choices you are making, always leaning toward something
else but forcing yourself to stick to the path your on despite the
fact your NOT enjoying the ride That’s a Damn good sign you
need to change what your doing.
If at any point you are stuck in a
rut, your not just having a tough time and progress has slowed but
your actually dreading what you are doing, CHANGE. Why and where
did we get this idea that most things worthwhile and useful have
to SUCK!!! Be hard, painful, dreaded. That anything worthwhile is
something where we give to, more then we receive from. NO!! That
good revolves around deprivation, restriction, hours and hours of
agony or at the least indifferent feelings or minor dislike for
what we are doing.
Again NO!
I say it’s
the opposite.
Yes, you will have hard times. Yes,
they may be many. Yes, There are going to be times when you get
kicked in the junk and curl up like a poisoned pup. Still even in
those toughest of times, at the root of your actions, deep down
there has to be some joy, love, passion, and desire for your choices
of action. There has to be greater give then there is take from
the choices or you wont give your all. You wont give your best if
your hating what you do.
If the majority of your time is spent
in disgust, stress, hating life you are not doing what you could,
and likely what you should. You're not doing what you would really
enjoy and would excel at and your wasting time and energy that could
be better directed at what you could, what you really enjoy.
Injuries happen.
PR’s get missed.
Pain, hardship, aches, plateaus all
are part of the training game. If your giving your all to something,
they happen and you have to deal with them. You come out the other
end stronger, and smarter for it.
But, you MUST be enjoying the ride
more then you are hating it. You have to be getting fired up, and
finding joy in some form or another from those hurdles. If you're
not...if you're getting nothing but the feeling of someone peeing
in your post toastees everyday, and constantly, consistently, questioning
why you're doing this...
Why am I power lifting? Why am I
a strongman competitor? Why am I putting up with the pains of being
a MMA fighter, or the deprivation of being a bodybuilder and getting
to 4% body fat when deep down I want to go to the Olympics on the
National Badminton team. Then CHANGE!
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Do
what you love.
Use adversity for
what it is best at, as the #1 marker for what you should be
doing. What you really are meant to do. What you love, have
passion for, and will give your all to and enjoy doing it.
After you figure that out your golden, your doing what you
love and adversity will no longer be pain, or hardship, but
a non issue. Adversity will be just another accepted step
in the road you have chosen, and will actually fuel your fire.
Use your pain as
a messenger to do what you love. Be it strength sports or
chess. Sprinting or marathons. No ones goal, if its Yours,
is any less noble then another’s. Allow yourself to do
what you enjoy, and you’ll look adversity in the eye.
Kick adversity in its virtual junk. You’ll find more
joy out of pain when doing what you love then you will out
of success in something you don’t.
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About The Author
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Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the “Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting federations, also serves as the Arizona State Chair for the North American Highlander Association, as well as the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
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