14 Days

Today marks 14 days to the day before I leave for what is arguably...nah..fuck it..most definitely one of the greatest things that has EVER happened to me and outright the most significant sporting and personal achievement I have made to date.

 

Thanks to the help a very good friend, I have been afforded an opportunity to compete at the World’s Strongest Man U105kg competition in Bergen, Norway. I will represent the country of my birth, Zimbabwe, at this most prestigious event. To represent my country is a lifelong dream.

 

To many people an event like this means nothing. Not to worry, not much of your life means anything to me either. And you know what, that's just fine. I'm not particularly interested in you anyway. But that's one of the many lessons I've learned in what has been my most educational year to date. None of what I have achieved in the run up to this competition, less what I am yet to achieve at this competition and in life as a whole would be possible without the lessons I’ve learned.

 

I was forced to learn many things this year. Unfortunately (or fortunately), life took it upon itself to kick me squarely in the balls this year. A lot of things I had taken for granted in my personal life were no longer present or somewhat ruffled if you prefer. For better or for worse and with the help of a counsellor (yes, I asked for help, I’m man enough to do so) I started to look at myself and what type of person I was and who I was becoming as opposed to who “the little kid inside me” had wanted to be all those years ago. Needless to say, they were quite far apart on some key issues. So here are some of the lessons I learnt from and about introspection:

 

1)      It’s painful, nothing worth it is easy. Especially on matters of discovering the soul.

2)      It takes time. What? Did you expect behavioural and emotional patterns that took years to develop are going to evolve overnight? Be patient.

3)      It’s no one else’s problem or fault. No one can do anything to you that you didn’t allow them to. They were acting in their best interests and the way you allowed them to.

4)      Stop allowing yourself to be unhappy. Change the things that trigger those unhappy/negative feelings. That will be hard itself and may not lead to happiness immediately. But at least you’ve begun your evolution.

5)      If you are unsure about what it is you want out of life, you will get exactly fuck all from it. So find some goals, short term achievable ones will do just fine for now.

6)      This all means you need to learn to prioritise yourself. Not to the detriment of other people through selfish and childish demanding behaviour. But by respecting yourself and doing what gives YOU satisfaction and the opportunity to grow.

 

What does all this have to do with strongman or training I hear the muscle freaks ask.. What does strongman have to do with emotional growth I hear the “normal people” ask.. Nothing in life is independent of anything else, I answer.

 

In life, love and training I have found that honesty is not important, it’s essential. If you can’t be honest about understanding yourself then nothing else is ever going to make sense and you are denying yourself and the people around you the best version of yourself that you could be. And that’s just criminal, and dumb.

 

Stop holding yourself back.