by Gary McKendrick | Apr 3, 2023 | Blog
Consider the ocean and its vastness, in area and in depth.
About 71% of the earth’s surface is covered in water, that’s 139,668,500 m2.
And at its deepest point, the Pacific Ocean, is nearly 7 miles deep.
That’s insane. But it got me thinking about life.
You see, there’s surface level and there’s deeper level.
Most people choose to go through life at the surface level.
At the surface it’s a lot safer and when you’re above the water, you can see around you, and see directly beneath you.
There’s safety and certainty in that. There’s no risk from delving into the deep unknown.
But staying at the surface is the same, it’s aimless and never-ending, and it’s boring.
You’ll never get to know your deeper level limits, of what you’re capable of and you’ll never discover anything if you stay at the surface.
Just scratching the surface of everything in life.
Surface level relationships, with your self, your family, your friends, your colleagues.
Surface level conversations and connections with others. Usually revolved around moaning, blaming, bitching & judging. Because its easy to do all that.
But be willing to dive deeper and this is where you discover the hidden beauty of life and yourself.
You challenge yourself to go deep, into the unknown, take risks and put yourself to the test.
You build your resilience, you become better, you learn new skills.
You’re on the lookout for something, you’re on a mission to find something specific and you’re also open to see whatever other mysteries come along to, you’re open for opportunities.
And diving deep can’t be done alone, you need very strong support, and this is priceless.
In the deep zone is where the hidden gems lie, its where a world awaits you that not many get to see because they’ve stuck themselves to the surface.
Where in your life could you go beyond surface level?
What are you bored of? Where do you need to push yourself to grow?
Your health? Get in shape? Join that gym? Clean up your diet? Bin the addictions? Get professional help?
Your relationships? Walk away? Or have a brutally honest conversation with someone? Remove the drama-queens in your life that drain your energy?
Your job? Find a career? Find something you enjoy, you’re good at, with people who appreciate you?
Your choice; stay on the surface and the same old, or take a risk, dive deeper in life…
by Gary McKendrick | Nov 21, 2022 | Blog
Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat.
And perhaps you are too?
Or at least a little out of shape, a bit soft around the edges maybe.
Because you took your eye off the ball of what’s truly important in life, your health.
Your health is your real wealth.
Good health is a crown worn by the healthy that only the ill can see
As in, the consequence of taking your health for granted is that you neglect it, you’re not maintaining it, you assume it’ll always be there, until it’s not. When we’re either told by the doctor or we have that shock moment when we see ourselves in the mirror or in a photograph.
Just this morning in the gym, I noticed the number of totally out of shape people and wondered if they were now thinking, ‘I wished I’d started sooner’.
The four most important pillars of a meaningful life are built upon:
- Your Health
- Your Family
- Your Friends
- Your Work
In that order too. You can’t truly be your best in all areas of life unless you feel your best, and that starts with your health & wellbeing.
It’s a balancing act, quite often you’ll not feel like the no1 priority due to life just happening, however if you’re mindful of when the balance is out and you feel a bit neglected, then you quickly reset and restart on you.
by Gary McKendrick | Apr 21, 2022 | Blog
So you work out for 3hrs a week. Every week without fail. Excellent start. A great habit.
But that’s only 1.8% of your week.
That’s not enough to make any impact if the remaining 98.2% is filled with fucking terrible habits and all the wrong things.
Most people fuck it all up by getting the 3 basics consistently wrong which negates the intense effort they make for that 3hrs a week in the gym.
These 3 basics are:
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Hydration
But I train 5 times a week, or 7 times a week I hear you say. Well, that’s still only 3% or 4.2%. So you’re still fucking it all up with the other +95% however you look at it.
So my point to consider is this:
If you’re unhappy with the results from your fitness efforts, be it your body-shape, composition or weight, despite your intense efforts and the years you’ve been going to the gym,
then fucking THINK about and CHANGE what you’re doing during the other 96-98% of your time.
Less than 5% of your time in the gym CANNOT compensate for a lifestyle of mostly shit food, shit drink and shit sleep.
It took me 10yrs to work that one out.
Over the last 2yrs I’ve stepped it up and take it all very SERIOUSLY. And guess what, my results got serious too.
Huge progress and improvements made.
Something to ponder.
As you were…
by Gary McKendrick | Dec 6, 2021 | Blog
Your current effort is what determines your results. In every area of your life.
What you do very frequently, habitually, consistently, gives you either the results you do want or don’t want.
Consider the current state of:
• your health, fitness, flexibility, strength, and body shape
• your career and prospects,
• your energy and confidence,
• your relationships with your partner, your kids, your family, your friends, your colleagues
• your overall happiness and fulfillment in life
The killer questions are:
1. Are you happy with your current state?
2. Are you making progress, or going backward/getting worse, or simply maintaining a level you’re not happy with.
It’s crucial to be fully aware that only YOU can get the results you want.
For example, joining a gym and working with a PT is all good, the intentions are all there but the PT won’t do the actual exercise for you, and he won’t be there to put you to bed early and get you up on time to get to the gym, he won’t sweat and be in pain for you, he won’t be there at mealtimes to make sure you aren’t eating crap.
And that new job opportunity you took, you promised you’d give it your all, that you’re the right person for the job, that you will exceed all expectations. Your first month goes well, you’re in the honeymoon period, you want to impress but you soon relax a little too much and coast along, the effort dwindles. And you wonder why the prospects dwindle too.
Everything you have in life is in direct correlation to the effort you put in.
You need to put in real effort, consistently. Otherwise, you’ll hide behind excuses and make no progress anymore.
To excel in any area of life takes being consistent. Doing it despite your mood.
Anyone can be intense for a short period of time, such as a 6-week gym program, a 3month fad diet plan, a last-minute surge for a work project, or before you go on holiday. Intensity is a useful tactic but Consistency is Key.
Our habits are a consistent thing. But are our habits slowly killing us or are they slowly creating something to be proud of?
We should live as an example to others, as opposed to a warning to others.
A crucial step is to be aware of the dreaded plateau.
You will naturally hit this. Those new habits, that extra effort, that intensity will at some point become the norm, it will stop acting as a big stressor to your body & mind.
If you stay in the plateau, are you maintaining a good state that you’re happy with, or is it still a state you want to improve on?
How many people have gone to the gym for YEARS, yet don’t look like they do? I always wonder what they’d look like if they didn’t go to the gym. Worse or the same?
How many people have done the same job for 10yrs or longer yet don’t climb the career ladder?
Your efforts should give you a good return on investment.
A stockbroker doesn’t allow a plateau for years or diminishing returns on your investments.
So pay attention.
Recognise the plateaus so you can adapt and keep making progress.
by Gary McKendrick | Sep 28, 2021 | Blog
Your worst supporters are often the people who you’d expect to be your most avid fans of your new chosen ‘thing’.
Your thing could be:
- A new hobby or interest
- A new partner
- A new job
- A new career or business
- A new life decision to lose weight,
- Or to get fitter, leaner, stronger, healthier, and happier
- Or to eat healthier, cut out those takeaways
- Or to stop smoking
- Or stop doing drugs
- Or to drink less, or even become sober
Whatever your thing is, you must be prepared for the peer pressure of those close to you to want you to actually continue to be the old you.
I know, crazy huh? Why aren’t they supporting you? Why would they not want to see you heading in a new direction?
Perhaps they don’t want to feel left behind.
Perhaps they don’t want to feel like they’re inferior because you’re choosing not to behave as they do.
Perhaps they’re scared of seeing you change and they think they might lose you as you drift apart.
Perhaps they don’t want a mirror held up to themselves to see how their own bad habits are negatively affecting their own lives.
Perhaps they too want to change but they lack the discipline to do so.
Perhaps they feel safe in their comfort zone based on ease and convenience.
Whatever the reason, it’s useful for you to know that you may receive criticism rather than applause for your new thing. Then if/when you do, you aren’t surprised or upset and you can try to understand why they may be acting a certain way.
Change is sometimes a lonely place but just silently get on with it.
Have the courage to say NO.
Do not allow their insecurities to drag you back down to a place that you no longer wish to be anymore.
It’s like the bucket of crabs analogy – when one crab finds his way to the top and is about to get out, the other crabs pull him back down into the bucket again, instead of offering a helping hand to get him out.
As The Doors song goes, “People are strange…”
Keep going, have a conversation with them, lay down your new ground rules, and don’t cave in to their peer pressure.
Worst case, you will have to cut some ‘friends’ out of your life, or if it’s family then limit time spent with them.
Don’t allow anyone to derail your efforts.
And should you succumb to temptation, that’s okay, it becomes part of your journey, you only have to get it right once remember.
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