Dear Collective,
I was cleaning up around the house the other day, threw on my old iPod, and an old Mobb Deep track popped on.
"Ain't no such thing as halfway crooks."
Think about that from their perspective. In that world, you are either a crook or you aren't. There is no middle lane. Running around trying to act like you're "about that life" gets exposed fast because when the pressure hits, you actually have to live it. You have to eat the consequences of what you signed up for.
It immediately brought me back to something I’ve said at the gym:
You can't half-ass a good ass.
It sounds like a joke, but the idea behind it is real.
We live in a culture full of people lying to themselves about their daily lives. Everyone wants the end result. Everyone wants the muscle, the great body, the conditioning, the reputation, or the feeling of walking into a room knowing they can handle whatever happens. But you can't walk into a grocery store and buy muscle off a shelf. You can't download capability from an app on your phone, and you can't borrow someone else's capacity to do work.
You have to earn it with your own sweat, your own joints, and your own hours.
Too many people spend their days saying they are "trying." They say, "I'm trying to get in shape," or "I'm trying to make a change." "Trying" is just an escape you build to protect your ego. It gives you permission to bail the second things get hot. It keeps one foot safely out the door so you don't have to look foolish if you miss.
Straddling the fence is exhausting. You end up renegotiating with yourself every single morning. Do I go to the gym today? Do I eat the clean meal? Do I hold the standard? You burn out your willpower having arguments with yourself before you ever got out of bed.
If you want the thing, do what is required to get it.
You either lifted the weight, or you didn't. You walked through the gym door, or you slept in. You are either about that life, or you are just talking about it in conversation.
Pick a side. Once you choose, debate is over.
Look at where you’ve been hedging your bets this week. Stop talking about what you are "trying" to do. Decide what you actually want, step over the line, lace up your shoes, and go do the work.
With Strength and Wisdom,
Charlie
We, The Collective Fitness