Consistency

Starting around the end of November when the holidays begin, its typically a challenge to adhere to the gym routine. Family comes in from out of town, friends you havent seen all year suddenly phone you, shopping for christmas gifts -- it all simplistic but can easily be overwhelming to juggle time. When the new years comes, the first two weeks usually result in an all out brawl for space and squat rack usage at the gym. When looking at it from a circumfrential vantage, it can all accumulate quickly.

The best advice I had ever recieved from an elder -- Its all about prioritizing. As cliche as it sounds, the truth behind such a simple statement reveals itself to me every single day. Everyone has a choice, we are all blessed with the same 24 hours and 7 days, no matter our economic-socio status or ethnicity, we all have a choice. Thats the beauty with free will, we can choose to do with time whatever we please. We can spend it as productively or non-productively as possible.

Ultimately, the way I see it -- before I go to sleep at night and I reflect on how my day went, how did my actions contribute to my goals, short and long term? Theres nothing wrong with skipping a gym session to promote rest and healing, theres also nothing wrong with skipping happy hour with your friends to study for an upcoming exam. This is ultimately your story, and the ones who truly want to be part of it will stay, no matter what. It is your life and no one elses.

If the point is not clear yet, this is much larger than the gym. The gym is merely a medium in which you can develop habits not only physically but most importantly mentally of which you can apply to everyday life. I believe this is the largest real life lesson most gym-goers miss. It is not about the amount of weight lifted or how fast you can run, rather the ability to discipline yourself enabling the achievement of such goal is the true prize. The ability to zone out distractions and undergo the necessary steps in chronological order is a strength developed that can stand against the test of time and carry any weight of any challenge presented in life.

When you're confronted with a conflict of interest in actions just remember the choice is yours.

The clock is ticking.