What I Learned From 100 Push-Ups
One of my goals starting back on January 1st of 2023 was to do at least 100 push-ups every day for an entire year straight. No make ups, no re do’s, no “I will do 200 tomorrow instead”, no excuses. At least 100 push-ups every single day for a year straight…
Fast forward to today and I haven’t stopped! As of this writing I am about to reach 500 consecutive days without missing one day. In terms of push-ups, I estimate in that time I have done around 75,000 push-ups!
So why am I am sharing this? It is definitely not to brag, because that is not who I am (although I am proud of myself). I am sharing it because along the way I have learned some valuable lessons that I believe could help you in life and whatever you endeavor to do with it. Here are the big lessons from this journey so far:
Not every day is a great day (and that’s ok)
I always preach about not settling for GOOD when GREAT is possible in life. But the reality is not every day is going to be a great day. There are days when we have to fight our way to the end just to make it (and that’s ok). But that still doesn’t mean we can’t achieve something from the day. No matter how I was feeling, even on the bad days, the minimum was 100 push-ups. Many days the push-ups were part of a bigger work out, but never less. At the end of every day, no matter how it went, I always felt I had achieved something.
Consistency builds character
The biggest commitment you must keep is your commitment to yourself. There is something about being a person of your word and following through on what you said you were going to do. I never started the push-up goal to impress anyone, but rather prove to myself I could do something consistently for an extended period of time without giving up. The key to building character is consistency. When you are consistent with yourself, you are building character traits of trust, loyalty and discipline which other people find very appealing.
Habits build other habits
Once I cemented the habit of doing 100 push-ups every day, I could count on it because I knew it was going to happen. Then something interesting happened. I said to myself, if I know that there is going to be a point in the day when I do the 100 push-ups, could I attach other habits to it so that I can build quality habits in other areas of my life? So, I tried it and it worked! During this period, I have developed other habits that have improved the quality of my life and they have all been built off of this one habit.
Schedule time for yourself
Our lives are very busy and we try to cram as much as we can into them. We get pulled every which way with the demands of each day, and often get to the end feeling like there is never enough time to get everything done. That is how I feel. Yet, when I began the 100-push-up journey, it taught me something very powerful. I have to schedule time for myself. I can always make an excuse of why I don’t have time to do the push-ups because I need to write another email or step into another meeting or take another call, you get it. The truth is, our schedule is a reflection of what we value most. You are valuable so schedule time for yourself.
We are capable of far more than we know
What about a day off? That is what I get asked a lot when people hear about this journey. The answer is I thought the same thing when I first started. Until I found out how much the body is capable of, and that the mind is our biggest limitation to what our bodies are capable of. What I have learned the most from this journey is simple: As humans, we are capable of far more than we know.
So where do I go from here? Maybe it will be 1,000 consecutive days in a row. Maybe, like Forest Gump there will come a time when I decide to just stop. Who knows...
Whatever is next, and whatever I learn from it, I will be sure to let you know!
I BELIEVE IN YOU!
Choose to make today a GREAT day and always choose to Live Life 2 The Max!
