There is a single, small difference between the people that "do" and the people that "don't".
It's the difference between strength and weakness, progress and stagnation, success and failure.
Each and every one of us has it, have used it, and have used it successfully – every single time.
And every single time – we have an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, our efforts are justified, and we bask in the glory of a tough job well done, and done well enough to justify its means.
There are several single words that sufficiently describe this characteristic; though for some reason these words don't sound as potent and powerful as they did when we were children.
In descending order, these are my six measured by depth. On their own, any single one of these is sufficient in their effect on an outcome, though in this context "Presence" is more appropriate.
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As it relates to wellness, health, and fitness there is not a single person that ever got lucky by accident… not one.
Whoever has achieved a deliberate outcome was present in all of the decisions responsible for creating that particular outcome. They felt, they focused on what they were doing when they were doing it. These people didn't necessarily focus on fitness and health every waking moment, they just focused on it when they were doing it – they were Present. This presence-of-mind / presence-of-moment slowly and eventually permeates into other relevant moments, naturally and otherwise effortlessly bringing them sufficiently close to their intended destination.
This Presence in their current moment afforded them an advantage that without, there would be no success.
They're paying attention to what they're doing while they're doing it, then they're present in each moment that arrives after that… every meal, every activity, every set, every rep.
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Whether practical, physical, spiritual or emotional - effort and intensity are relative and subjective; some days hard is easy, and other days easy is hard – this is true for everyone. But, 100% is 100% no matter which way you cut it. If you only have 70% today - great, then do 100% of that. If today's a good day and you're bringing 105%, give 100% of that, too. The only way you know what you have is if you're paying attention to what you're feeling at this very moment.
Presence is critical in all things we hope to improve about ourselves, inward or outward. If you want to maximize your efforts in eating right, then you'll need to be Present when you're choosing your meals. If you want to maximize your efforts in being a more attentive father, then you'll need to be Present when the opportunity arises to shoot some hoops with your six-year-old son. If you want to maximize your efforts in having a stronger connection to God or the Universe, then you need to be Present when there's an opportunity to tune-in to those vibrations.
It's astounding how quickly things change when you pay attention to the moments that determine their influence.
For a moment… think… think about a single and seemingly inconsequential change you could make that only you might recognize but would give you satisfaction in making this one thing different than it is now.
Now think of just one thing that frequently reminds you of its current state.
Your homework is to look for the opportunities that arise where you can choose to change its very history and see what happens.
This is the easy part – the hard part is going to be spreading your awareness to every part of your life, once you've seen how mundane a task it really is.
