As the holidays roll into full affect and we all have time to sit and relax, I wanted to contribute some perspective to the MISC on an important foundation for success.

When I think about everyone I have encountered that is doing well, there are a few common themes/characteristics in these individuals that I notice. I will speak on what I believe to be one of the most important ones that is in almost EVERYONE's control right now.

GRIT.

Winners are the ones that can get themselves into a truly uncomfortable place and grind it out. As crazy as it sounds, I look to put myself in that place and I start to get super uncomfortable when I start to get comfortable. Training your ability to build that grit shows itself in all areas of life.

Most winners can grind it out until they "break" their opponent's will. As cliche as the movie Rocky was, its real. While his opponents were always stronger than him, faster than him, had more access to supplements and equipment.....what they couldnt beat him on was his work ethic. His will to win. His grit.

This mentality is applicable to sports, business, and just life in general.

Since this is a bodybuilding forum, the first place you can apply and program your brain for this mentality is in the gym or any physical activity.
Its not good enough to just walk in the gym, do a some sets, rest, walk around, talk to people etc. If each person is going to spend 1 hour in a space, you might as well use that time efficiently. Write out a program or have someone write it out for you. Use technology to your advantage. I strap on a monitor, i put it on the wall of the gym for everyone to see, and it tells me where my body is at and the programming pushes me to the edge every single work out. Its 45 minutes in 24 hours. I actually get nervous prior to a workout as I know im about to take my mind to a bad place.

Im working with my kids to train that mindset at a very early age as well. They are 5 and 7 and they have been in wrestling and BJJ since 3.5. They are smaller boys and they spar with kids much bigger and more athletic than them. I tell them to concentrate on technique and on positioning. They spend A LOT of time on the bottom defending against much bigger/stronger kids. And by the time the sessions are done, they are completely spent. Little do they know, they are already training that GRIT mentality daily.

I know this sounds SUPER cliche, but quite frankly, most dont push themselves near hard enough (including me when i get in a rut)
So get up, write up a plan, use data to your benefit and push yourself to the edge a few times a day. You will thank me for it in the long run.

Yeah pick a goal and never give up and nothing can stop you. I literally broke my back and failed out of college and went to 4 different colleges over 8 years of non-stop grinding and ended up getting accepted and graduating from the most competitive medical program in the country. I did this with horrible depression where I cried myself to sleep almost every single day because of the emotional pain I experience caused by severe genetically caused depression that will never go away. I never have any energy or motivation to do anything and want to end my life all the time and look at what I fuking did because I never gave up. Most people are too lazy to be successful and like to makes excuses and blame other people. That is the number 1 trait of unsuccessful people. The victim mentality.

Legit. No matter genetics or anything else the thing that anyone can do to improve their life is working harder/being more resilient. It really is a skill you have to constantly develop

This is a great perspective. Life will always have imperfections. Everyone has ups and downs. You just have to keep pushing forward. And when you think "hey im working hard" you probably arent working hard enough.

When Im applying this mentality in the gym, i literally cant talk to anyone when im on full blown mode on the assault bike. And when that 5 minute round is up i literally feel like my heart is about to explode. That is the state you need to put yourself in at least a few minutes a day.

100%. And its not just "hey work harder you lazy bastid"
You need to have a plan. You need to have a path, a strategy, and then execute.
If things dont work out, modify the plan, push forward.

Great perspective bro.

Lol fukin badass op.

I’m going to get a projector and blast my vitals on the wall of the gym (that is closed forever) so everyone can mire (or not give a fuk).

I understand things are a little weird right now, but guess what......there will always be an excuse no matter what the situation is. Part of that GRIT is working around situations. Thats the part where your mind says "I will not be denied"

True story.....my gym closed down too. I set up a home gym to work around it.
I couldnt find my intensity at home so I seeked out a HiiT gym that was open in my town. I thought that place was for women.....and there are a lot of them there but guess what.....that move has opened me up to a new world.

Its really easy to deadlift a set when you are well rested. Try doing deads for 15 when you are gasping for air from a full blown sprint session prior.
This training really imitates a fight. Five minutes on. 1 minute rest. For 1 hour.
I literally have to take my mind to a weird place where i almost zone out because if you concentrate on the stress, my mind will try to tell my body to quit.