Yesterday I took part in Day 1 of “Hell Week” in Ramit Sethi’s 20x Your Potential. Day 1 focused on overcoming physical barriers through mental toughness.
We were presented with two outrageous challenges from which to choose. 1000 Push-ups for time or a 21 Minute Plank. The third option was to ring the bell and quit. Having been through Officer Candidate School and hearing the bell routinely as another Soldier quit, there was no way I was giving up.
I accepted the 1000 Push-up Challenge and set a goal to complete it in less than 1:45:00. I started out well knocking out almost 100 push-ups in the first 10 minutes. I made the classical rookie mistake of going out of the gate too quickly. I paid for it with the next 900 reps.
The real goal of this challenge was to understand that the body is stronger than the mind. At 250 push-ups, it was hard to look at what I needed to do to get to 1000.
The only way to accomplish such an outrageous goal was to break it into smaller more achievable goals. I began to only look at the next 10 reps. 10 push-ups is nothing. I have done that many in my sleep (literally). By focusing on a smaller more achievable goal, I was able to accomplish more push-ups than I’ve ever completed in one setting.
My official time was 2:02:47. I didn’t reach my goal, but I did manage to reach the end and triumphantly do the last rep. I have a sense of accomplishment and have proved to myself again that the body is more powerful than the mind. That large goals can only be completed by taking the first step toward smaller more achievable goals.
Now I’m looking forward to Day 2. [Tweet “Large goals can only be completed by taking the first step toward smaller more achievable goals”]If you are up to the challenge, go to 20xyourpotential.com and sign up for the next session of”Hell Week.” It is 5 days will challenge you physically and mentally. Join me in this journey and share your accomplishments.
[reminder]Could you do 1000 push-ups? What is holding you back?[/reminder]
[callout]Read all my reflections from 20x Your Potential: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 [/callout]
