Well... IT'S FINALLY HERE! I'm writing this with just about 4 hours left of this challenge and am taking time to reflect.
This whole experience was most definitely a journey, and something that I will never forget.
Typically, I love challenges, and I truly believe "The Obstacle is the Way". This challenge presented multiple obstacles, consecutively... and really tested my resolve along the way. I feel it's built a couple of callouses, and looking back... I can say it was worth it.
I've always been involved with weight training to some extent, since I was 16 years old. I always tried to maintain relatively good shape... but this was something that forced growth not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
I look forward to the future and am excited to see the progress that has been made to myself and the business through all of this.
In case you missed any of the previous posts in this series... I've listed them here:
75 Hard - Part 1 - Not the best start...
75 Hard - Part 2 - It gets worse...
75 Hard - Part 3 - Not out of the Woods Just Yet...
Running Perfect Laps...
If you think about a storm, and how calm and serene things feel after the fact... this is, where I feel to an extent at this point in the journey.
Now, it is a matter of optimization and fine tuning. We are striving for our "perfect laps" within the system, and each team member, I feel, is better off than we had started.
We are seeing the results, that we were unclear or uncertain off in the midst of the chaos. Myself, along with our team trusted the process... we went through the journey, and by doing so...
Our company, our team members and our customers are better off... and that makes everything that has transpired worth it.
It was short term pain, for long term gain within our systems. The guilt of not being able to help every customer that reached out to us, is replaced with the confidence of knowing that as a team, we are much better prepared for the next storm. The individuals within our team are taking great steps to become better in their jobs and advance themselves within their careers.
A good handful of our team started training, one of the team members is looking to start up a photography blog, there's laughter and collaboration overflowing within our back office. Not only have I changed during this process... but I am seeing others within our organization change as well.
It amazes me to see the growth in the team, and the initiative some of them are starting to take.
It took us all going through the fire together to get there. Not me stepping in to save them... it took a bigger challenge (or challenges) that I could possibly do alone, to realize that.
The Final Week...
My body is still beat down, but knowing this is done, part of me wants to figure out what new challenge I can replace this with.
I see the massive mental benefit that walking daily has yielded. It's a forced time to reflect, and think about what is going on around me. It is the one time that I do not have my phone on me or glued to a piece of technology.
For someone like myself, that has a hard time keeping weight on... I foresee an easier time gaining weight, now that I am not doing 23.1 Miles per week.. and surprisingly, I've gained weight since the start of the challenge.
Without experiencing the lows within this challenge, I don't think I would truly appreciate the benefit that has come from it.
Without forcing myself through this challenge, it may have never catalyzed me to make the changes that I never knew I needed.
To be honest.... probably not. 😂
I think one time was enough, but perhaps there's another challenge for me to take on in the future.
This was something that I think I'm ok with doing just once, but I've taken a lot of great insights and lessons from going through it. I think a lot of these lessons will be transformational in the coming years of my career and my life.
I don't think I could have done it, if I didn't take on the challenge with someone just as stubborn as me.
Adam and I are alike in that we are both very stubborn people... and when one of us didn't feel like going through it, the other one of us was there to push the other.
I wasn't about to let him outwork me, and he wasn't about to let me outwork him.
If you are thinking about taking on this challenge... I'd say, find someone as stubborn, or more stubborn than you to help drag you through it!
I thought... "I could do it, but what's the point?", and "This is going to make me lose a ton of weight...why am I doing this?".
All of these thoughts were excuses, and me trying to give myself reasons to quit. There were so many great lessons in this experience, and honestly, I've probably forgot to write about some of them..
I do think that if you were ever to try this challenge, and you get through it... it will reveal things to you, that you aren't aware of.
There is a lot of self-talk that happens during something like this... and for me it is something that I typically, in the past, have lacked the space for.
After clearing several hundreds of miles, and 75 consecutive days of weight training.... mentally I feel stronger, physically I'm in a little better shape.. but most of all, there were many lessons learned. It took going through a storm... both literally and metaphorically, to forge a better me.
Beyond that... What I am more proud of, is our team... and all of the positive growth that has starting sprouting up during all of this.
Moving Forward...
Now that this storm has passed, I feel better equipped to take on the next. I think that the lessons learned were earned through weathering the storm and for that reason, I am grateful for this experience. I know there will be another challenge. It could be tomorrow or a year from now, but I'll be better prepared because of this whole experience to take care of it.
I've learned that a lot of the limitations or circumstances that I see within my life, are just mental barriers. Over the years, I've talked myself into an unhealthy level of work, and I paid for it in many fronts.
Looking back, to an extent, I think it was necessary. Do I regret it? Not at all. I spent the last ten years trying to build the skillset needed to get myself to where I am today.
Looking forward at the next ten years, I think it's not only unnecessary, but... probably won't be the most effective for my longevity and goals.
I learned that what got me here, won't get me further.
During this whole experience, I've managed to go 75 days straight working out twice a day.... that means that I've committed several hours of my waking hours towards something besides work (something I haven't done in years)... while overhauling and basically building the company back from the ground up.... with green employees, in the middle of the biggest storm I've experienced in recent memory!
I could have never predicted how difficult this challenge was going to be, but I am glad to have been through it. What I've learned is that there is no reason why I have to use my obligations at work as an excuse not to do anything! I feel excited for what's on the horizon, and I truly believe that the best is yet to come.
I feel a sense of liberation from the weight of running this business, and know... there's more in the tank for me.
It took "having no choice" to reveal to me that I can make the time for things outside of my business, without feeling guilty.
I can go out and enjoy things, like anyone else, without a sense of work guilt.
I can make the time to spend with my friends and family, and...
I can prioritize my health in the middle of any storm that comes my way.
With this challenge completed, and our project roll out coming to an end... I am committed to keep the momentum going. I want to end this decade of my life in the best shape of my life on all fronts!