Recognizing you’ve fallen off the path is the first step in the right direction.
Swimming in the ocean is the best analogy I can think of for this topic.
If you’ve ever swam in open water, you know how easy it is to drift. You think you’re headed straight, but unless you lift your head to spot where you’re going, you slowly move off line.
It’s not a 90 degree pivot. It’s just a subtle shift from the path that sends you on a different trajectory.
Before the CrossFit Games each year, I’d open water swim two or three days a week to get comfortable in the ocean and learn how to stay on course. It's an acquired skill that takes time to develop. (It didn't always go to plan, but that's a story for another time.)
The biggest thing I learned during those swims was that it’s okay to pause.
Lift your head.
Recalibrate.
Then get back to work.
Recalibrate.
Then get back to work.
Here’s why this matters.
I get emails almost daily from guys frustrated with themselves. They used to train. Used to feel strong. Used to take care of their health. Then life happened.
Career picked up. Kids came along. Marriage, responsibilities, stress. We all know how it goes.
They look up one day and realize they’ve drifted.
Here’s the good news:
The moment you recognize you’re off course, you’ve already done the hardest part. The pause to take a look around matters.
Everyone drifts at some point. The question is whether you will allow yourself to keep drifting or you are aware enough to make a small correction before it compounds into something bigger.
Use this as an opportunity to lock back in on your why. Maybe it’s being around for your kids. Maybe it’s being a leader in your community. Whatever it is, here's a good place to start:
Wake up 45 minutes earlier and let's get the work done together.
I do the TRAIN HARD Daily workout every morning at 6AM in my garage. Thousands of other men do it too on their own time in different places around the world.
If you want that accountability and sense of community around your training, join me in my daily program. You can start your free trial HERE.
Plug into a Men’s Club. Jump on the weekly call. Put yourself around guys swimming in the same direction.
Small corrections. Done consistently.
That’s how you stay on course.
Keep training hard.
- Jason Khalipa
