Patience, Focus, And Having No Regrets

Recent events in my bodybuilding journey have taught me the incredible value of patience, long-term goal setting, and using every experience to learn and better oneself.

When I wiped out on that slope while snowboarding in December 2010, and wrecked the hell out of my right wrist, the first thought that went through my pain-fogged mind was, “How is this going to affect my training?” Over the course of the next five weeks, I treated my injured wrist like any other lifting setback in my career, whether a tweaked lower back or overused elbow from heavy pressing--stay off of it, train what I could, and hope to be back full force in a couple of weeks.

At the 5-week mark, however, it was clear that this was not like previous “injuries.”  The day that I went to the orthopedic surgeon for my X-ray, and was told that I had broken what is essentially the slowest-to-heal bone in my hand, I knew that it was the beginning of a whole new, unfamiliar trial for me. Between the initial 5 weeks after the injury, 6 weeks in a cast, 8 weeks in a brace, and 2-4 weeks of “taking it easy” afterwards, I had a long time to reflect and reevaluate.

Here are a few important lessons that I have taken from that experience, and others in my personal life:

You can dwell on mistakes made, or use them as a lesson, a foundation upon which to build a better you.

Over the course of those 4.5 months, I sometimes found myself reliving that day on the slopes--”If only I had decided not to go,” “If only I had stuck to less advanced trails...” I find that many people, bodybuilders and others alike, do a lot of that--“If only I hadn’t...if only...if only...” Well guess what? You did.

And the simple fact of the matter is, you need to accept responsibility for every action you choose to take, for better or for worse. You can either bring yourself down by living in the past and regretting these mistakes, or you can know that you are in the situation no matter what, and that it will improve. This is a lesson that, fortunately, I embraced quickly--my wrist isn’t going to be broken forever.

You can harp on what you are unable to do, or you can capitalize on abilities that remain.

For four and a half months, I was more or less completely unable to train my upper body. As an avid deadlifter that likes nothing more than to pull 500 pounds from the floor for reps, this was, at the very least, less than ideal. I could have let this get me down; I could have let it totally corrode my spirit and everything that I have worked for. Instead, I used the time to train my legs harder than ever, looking at the days out of the gym (what would have been upper body sessions) as time for full recovery and growth.

I used the built up fire for all those missed upper body days, and would go into the gym every four days for legs and train like a man possessed. And you know what? I saw tremendous improvement in my lower body that made me feel successful and motivated despite my so called “limitations”. In the months during my injury that could potentially have been some of the lowest of my life, I instead took a different approach, and used those weeks and months as pure training and recovery for my legs. And like someone once told me, “Great legs and back win a show.”

Be willing to look outside of yourself for motivation.

Two themes that I see a lot of in the bodybuilding world are that “only you” can motivate yourself, and “never back down, never admit weakness.”  While these are very respectable virtues in most cases, strict adherence to these ideals can make it extremely difficult for an injured or otherwise disabled athlete to be willing to look to others for support. Personally, I have found outside reinforcement to be critical in the maintenance of a positive mindset at times.

During my recent experience healing from injury, lifting legs with hard-working friends whenever possible, drawing inspiration from fitness industry pros online, and attending the 2011 Arnold Fitness Weekend all provided significant boosts to both my morale and my motivation. In an ideal world, every person draws sufficient strength from within. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to look beyond oneself, and channel the intensity of others to help bring us to that next step.

Patience and long-term goals are the name of the game.

This lesson is one that must be learned if a bodybuilder is going to succeed. Between the fact that lean mass gains take a long time, and that a pre-contest diet is a slow, miserable 15 weeks or more, a bodybuilder’s life is full of endeavors that, simply put, take a very long time. And this “long time” is not always the most enjoyable. Even for the normal person looking to “get in shape,” the journey is long and often arduous.

With the right mindset, though, an individual can come to the realization that “I will emerge on the other side of this better than I was, stronger than before, and maybe even a great champion.” Possessing this attitude is greater than all the riches in the world, as it makes the daily grind somewhat easier, makes you train harder, and encourages you to keep all your habits in line with your goals (and with your success, maybe one day you can have all the riches, too!).

Basically...

If you are going to take away from this piece just one bit of knowledge, let it be this: Sometimes, the road is not going to be easy. Rather than draining the souls of yourself and those around you by buckling to hardship, take the opportunity to work harder than ever, embrace mistakes as learning opportunities, and know that tomorrow will come, no matter how unending and hopeless today might seem. With the right mindset and willingness to work hard, your tomorrow can be the best of your life.