Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 193 – Sometimes You Lose

[Mahler]

Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 193 – Sometimes You Lose


Sometimes You Lose


This past weekend was a real potpourri of activity, fun, poor eating, staying up late and, of course, consequences. After a mediocre night’s sleep, I woke up at my usual time and was in my gym by 4:30 am. Having completed a five-minute calisthenics routine and a few warm-up sets, it was time to begin my deadlifts.

The sets seemed to go well as I wave loaded my way through the routine. First, 335, then 355, another twenty for 375. So far, so good. Next came 345, then 365, and there it was. Looming before me, in my concrete block sanctum, were the consequences. On the second lift at 365, I felt it. There was a little nagging pull and a twinge in my lower back and right hamstring. While I completed the lift, I had reservations about the next lift which was to have been 385. Hell only ten pounds more than my highest for the morning. That can’t be a problem. Or could it?

After the rest period, I approached the bar, got into position and pulled. The bar came off the floor, but it did not feel right and so I let it down. If there is anything I have learned in my years of lifting, it is to listen to what your body is telling you. This morning, my entire frame was shouting, “don’t try it.” And, now, at a moment when I was usually looking down at the bar and making some gesture of triumph, I was standing there thinking “sometimes you lose.” Of course, these thoughts were peppered with a wide variety of expletives that do not bear repeating, but suffice it to say I gave myself a good verbal beating for having failed. Yes, sometimes you lose.

We have all experienced those days where the workout just seems to fall apart. And, too, we have all had those times in our lives where things just do not go right or at least the way that we had planned. Often, the failure is of our own making, as surely was mine this morning. Just as often, however, it is unexplainable. Try as we might, we just don’t know what went wrong. It is then that we wake up to the fact that, in spite of anything we have done or failed to do, sometime you lose.

This, then, is not the time for self-pity or recriminations. Above all, it is not a time for throwing in the towel. It would have been easy to quit at this point. After all, I still chalked up some decent volume for the morning. But, it is at times like this that our resolve is tested. It’s time to make adjustments and move on, if we can. What I did do was just that. I dropped a few sets of heavy rack deads to make sure I didn’t complicate matters and moved on to some good mornings, to see how my back would react. I ended up doing them with 155, a new personal record. With that little bit of confidence, but with hesitation, I decided to go back and try some Snatch-Grip Deficit deads that were called for and, to my surprise, completed both sets using weights that were my personal best. I went on to complete my hanging leg raises and was finished. Should I have gone back and tried to conquer that missed pull? To that, I have to say a resounding “no.” What would it have proved at this point except that I was letting my ego rule over my common sense. It was more important, and far more safe, that I come to grips with the fact that sometimes you lose.

Success can be fashioned from failure, but only if we find it within ourselves to deal with the failure first. Sometimes you lose, but it is those losses, those moments of what could have been that can be more revealing, more enlightening than anything we have accomplished. Sometimes you lose, but what you learn can often make sure that, just possibly, most times you’ll win.


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Have a Great Week!

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[eastcoastsurfer]

Great story...this quote seems applicable.

"I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is precisely why I succeed." -- Michael Jordan

[Irishdazza]

Nice one John

[Lost Dog]

nice

[Jimbo]

"Success can be fashioned from failure, but only if we find it within ourselves to deal with the failure first."

Man oh man. Nothing could be truer.

[Deserve]

This was a good one John.

[liftintexas]

good stuff. I easily get discouraged and frustrated with myself. always something to learn ...

[RacerBill]

Very true words, John. I find if I know that I failed because I wasn't prepared, I'm able to pick up and move on after a bit. But those times it's unexplainable, I find it incredibly difficult to keep going. I'll remember this.

[ninja]

.

[GG300]

Thanks John

[I. Kay]

Thanks, John. This could - and should - also be applied to nutrition. It's so damn easy to find yourself looking up from a day of shitty eating and think "What the hell have I been doing?"

I can't speak for everyone else, but I can also apply this to emotional reactions to things. I get angry WAY too easily. Often enough I'll get into bed and think, "Damn, I wish I hadn't let my guard down for that!" Nothing to do but wake up the next morning and try again... though the temptation to simply say "Whatever!" is always there.

[jj]

Originally Posted by Mahler

Success can be fashioned from failure, but only if we find it within ourselves to deal with the failure first. Sometimes you lose, but it is those losses, those moments of what could have been that can be more revealing, more enlightening than anything we have accomplished. Sometimes you lose, but what you learn can often make sure that, just possibly, most times you’ll win.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Have a Great Week!

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John, this is one of my new favorites. Sometimes you lose. That is a great message and one we have all experienced. Thanks again John!

jj