Growing up in New Orleans was not easy. I was born with natural athletic ability, but lacked the motivation to improve on my gifts. Throughout my life, I started to seek motivation anywhere I could find it.
It seemed like the best motivation came from people who doubted me. I started writing and visualizing tangible goals, which eventually led me to a football scholarship and a way out of New Orleans.
I used that experience to help me succeed in the military and to improve my physical fitness. I believe physical accomplishments are 75 percent dependent on your body's ability, and 25 percent come from motivation and adrenaline.
Fitness excellence is just as mental as it is physical; it is a combination of desire and determination. I am not saying that the right mentality will allow you to just go up to a bench, throw on an enormous of weight and begin doing sets. What I am saying is that if you prepare yourself to lift that much weight, then -- with the appropriate work ethic -- you will eventually reach your goals.
But, I often see Soldiers asking about minimum qualifications instead. Nowhere is this more obvious than during physical fitness tests.
I am here to tell you, with that attitude, Soldiers defeat themselves before the test even begins. Mental limitations will indeed affect physical performance. I see it when Soldiers reach muscle failure, or even simply quit, once achieving the bare minimum.
These defeats are as much mental as they are physical, and they can be avoided with a little resiliency.
I have experienced this in my own life. While waiting to attend the U.S. Army Master Fitness School, I was also playing semi-professional football in Fort Benning, Ga.
However, I broke two ribs and passed out on the field only two months before I was scheduled to attend school.
As the first master fitness class being offered in 20 years, many people were anxious to take my place, and I remember my unit command worrying that I might not be able to pass if I were to go.
Just like when I was younger, that doubt was my motivation. After being on bed rest for two weeks, and with only five weeks before school, I began training and doing my own physical therapy.
My mentality was that I would succeed. I would complete the course and become one of the first graduates of the newly reinstated program. I believe my attitude played a large part in achieving that goal.
For many, all we need is that little push: something extra to get us going. Like most things, the beginning is the hardest part. Giving up those precious hours of sleep to go push yourself in the gym is difficult, at first. The hardest part of losing weight is that first pound. But, the easy path is also often the path to failure, or -- at best -- mediocrity.
While we cannot control many of the environmental factors in our lives, we can ALWAYS control our attitudes. Let them be your little push because, sometimes, that's all it takes to succeed.
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