You can’t expect to get to the next level when your aim is down low in the dirt. A vital key to maximizing your success is to aim to be the best or to give your best effort in your endeavors.
Why You Should Aim To Be The Best
If your aim is low, your ceiling will be too. You’ll struggle to reach real success because you never aimed high enough.
But aiming to be great does not guarantee that you will become the best. I wanted to be the best sprinter at West Chester University, but it didn’t happen. I wanted to be the best trainer at the Men’s Health Next Top Trainer competition, but it didn’t happen.
I didn’t reach the mountaintop in those endeavors. But aiming high allowed me to maximize my abilities at the time. On the other hand, the worst feeling in the world is knowing that you did not give it your all. That’s called fake hustle.
Striving to be the best version of yourself will take you significantly further than just trying to be average. I have always lifted with guys who can lift more total weight than me on most upper body exercises. I’ll probably never bench over 300lbs like some of my training partners. But in my mind, I have to keep striving to catch them because that mindset allows me to keep making progress.
Training with those brothers has allowed me to build more strength and muscle in my upper body than I ever imagined. The easiest way to go nowhere fast is to aim to be in the middle-of-the-pack. Here’s what settling for average sounds like:
Prospective bodybuilder: “Oh, I’m just looking to get on stage.”
Prospective athlete: “Oh, I’m just looking to make the team.”
Prospective lifter: “Oh, I’m just looking to get to the gym.”
This might be good enough for some people. But for the people who want a lot more, just showing up or just getting by will never be enough. Without aiming high, they will inevitably fall short. Here’s how to start aiming higher today:
1) Set a goal that scares you.
2) Train like someone’s trying to take your spot.
3) Hold yourself accountable every single week.
If you apply these principles, you have no choice but to get better.
Mike Wasn’t Always The Best
Most casual fans of basketball assume that Michael Jordan was always the greatest baller.
But what they do not know is that there was an extended period of time when he was not the unquestioned alpha lion. Michael Jordan was not the best basketball player in the world when he entered the NBA in 1984. At this point in time, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were the top alpha lions. They were winning championships, MVPs, and receiving the lion’s share of the NBA spotlight.
Jordan, being who he is, did not allow this to continue. By the late 1980s, Jordan was completely dominating the NBA and had become the league’s best individual player. But there was one thing Jordan did not have: an NBA championship.
The “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons were in the way, and they kept Jordan and the Bulls out of the NBA Finals for three consecutive seasons. As brilliant as Mike was individually, he truly could not be considered the best until his team won a championship.
Finally, in 1991, the Bulls, led by Jordan and Scottie Pippen, dethroned the Pistons and started winning championships. The two, three-peat title runs (1991-93, 1996-98) cemented his status in basketball as the GOAT for the majority of experts and pundits (including this author).
The NBA title was not given to him. He and his team had to earn it through hard work, determination, and an unwavering belief in their ability to succeed.
Conclusion
The choice for what you do is 100 percent up to you. Average effort gets you average results. If greatness is the goal, the work has to match.
I’ll holla at you next time,
The People’s Trainer
Fitman
