I just finished the book, “Unbeatable Mind” by Mark Divine. It was a fun read with some cool insight on how to become more mentally tough, but it also had some good insight on how to be a better person in general.
Mark uses stories from his life to make his points on whatever topic he is covering. He was talking about honesty in a chapter and told a story that involved exercise and I thought it could relate to our program as well as be applied to your everyday life.
The story was this:
Mark was at a Seal Fit Training (a strength and conditioning program he designed) and they were on a run. The guy in the lead was well ahead of the rest of the pack and he thought he was all alone out in front and turned ten feet before the halfway cone. He of course continued to lead the run and finished first out of his group. He was very proud and received praise from his peers. What he didn’t know was there was an instructor by the halfway cone that saw the whole thing.
The “cheater” was confronted by the instructor for his dishonesty and the short-term success and praise this man felt was short lived and his long-term regret for his actions will stay with him forever. He will always be looked at as a cheater, and no matter how hard he tried to show he is honest no one will ever believe him. This is obviously a little extreme but you get the point.
My take away from the story wasn’t just in terms of exercise but for those reading this that have been dishonest in your workouts please take this story to heart.
A take away from the chapter that I got outside of the realm of exercise (but could be applied there as well) was a saying from one Mark’s seal mentors. He said, “A ‘gut check’ for integrity would be to ask yourself, “Would I want to read of my actions on the front of the New York Times?”
The old saying is, “Cheaters never win.” Although short term this may not be true but in the long run it absolutely is. Be honest in everything you do. Work hard and you will see results in whatever endeavor you are on.
Richard Andrews
CF-L2