Do Not Be Balanced

Take a step back for a moment.

Take a breath.

Look at your training, your recovery methods, your sleeping patterns, your relationships, and your eating habits.

Really look at them just for a moment.

And ask yourself the question “How is this serving my life and the lives of those around me?” How is this making me a better more balanced person?

Sometimes the answer is to rest. This is perhaps the hardest thing for many of us to do. We live in a time when it seem that if you aren’t constantly in action than you are losing ground. You are going to get lapped by the millions of other go-getters that inhabit our world.

This feeling is intensified in the realm of fitness.

There is a strange palpable fear that when you aren’t training your opponent is.

This is a fear that is strange due to the fact that most of us aren’t training for anything of any real significance monetarily or in terms of peer admiration.

Yes the things that we train for are of the utmost importance to us as individuals, but if we are sacrificing other important aspects of our lives to win the local powerlifting meet then priorities may be a bit skewed.

Even as I write this I am tempted to say “you know what who care’s if it isn’t that significant to the world…go all in” whatever your passion is choose that one thing and give it all you have. Forget everything else and focus on that thing. Don’t worry about the physical toll on your body. Don’t worry about not spending enough time with your friends and family. Don’t worry about sacrificing your health. Don’t worry about diverting your focus away from things that really matter in your life.

…You know what?

Go all in.

Seriously.

Whatever it is that you enjoy doing go all in.

But here’s the catch.

Give yourself a time frame.

That could be 6 months or a year or two years or your entire life.

Give yourself a time frame and focus all of your energy onto the things that you have chosen.

This time frame will add urgency to your life in a time when complacency seems to rule.

Don’t worry about anything else in this time.

Discipline yourself for this short time.

Build new habits in this time.

Balance is a cool concept, but how many people who live balanced lives have turned out to be successful, memorable, or revolutionary? Not many.

Kobe Bryant is a prime example of an unbalanced man.

His entire life was devoted to basketball.

His focus was absolute. He is not balanced. In fact, like many people our society admires, he is obsessed, imbalanced, and perhaps a bit insane.

This mindset pushed him away from his teammates who were also professional basketball players. It pushed him away from his coaches and his family and his friends.

His focus was so absolute that he didn’t have time for those who were also not all in.

This initially led to Kobe being labeled as selfish, a proverbial ball hog, cold, and a coach killer.

His only focus was on winning and he did whatever it took to win.

If that meant taking all the shots so be it.

If that meant not listening to his coach and calling his own plays so be it.

If that meant hurting the feelings of a teammate so be it.

If that meant spending more time on the court than any other player so be it.

If that meant neglecting his family so be it.

It was not about being ‘balanced’. His only focus was on winning.

5 Rings was the result.

18 All Star Appearances was the result.

12 All Defensive Team spots was the result.

Top 5 Greatest all time was the result.

This did not happen by being balanced.

This happened by going all in onto something that he was good at, something that he loved, and something that turned him on.

What turns you on?

What do you enjoy doing?

Set a time frame for yourself and go all in on that thing.

The best that could happen? I don’t know…that is up to the fates to decide.

The worst that could happen? I don’t know…but it’s probably not that bad if you think about it.

The thing that will happen whether this experiment succeeds or fails for you is that you will not have any regret looking back.

You will have given everything you had.

You will know for sure if this is the path you were meant to take.

You will have tried and failed and tried and succeeded time and time again.

The regret will be gone.

You will be exactly where you need to be.

So live a life that is not balanced.

You do not need to be doing a hundred things at once. Multitasking is the path to being good at nothing.

Focus intently on the task at hand.

If you are with your loved ones be focused intently on them.

If you are training TRAIN.

If you are reading READ.

If you are making dinner COOK.

If you are walking WALK.

Do not be balanced.