Being Present - Shifting the Paradigm #1
What is up everyone! I hope you’re all having a kick ass day! Now let's jump into it. So, if you read my first post, you know that I briefly mentioned this big journey of self improvement I’ve been on. Well today I’m going to touch on one big realization that I wish I would’ve learned sooner. You see, over the past couple years I’ve been seeing great results in the gym, but I hit this big bad plateau on a key lift of mine (Incline bench). For about a month I couldn’t get past 155lbs/70kg for 5 reps. I began to doubt myself every time I went into the gym. Instead of relieving stress I’d just add more by beating myself up about no progress. What was once my sanctuary, became my prison.
That all changed when I stumbled upon this book called The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle while scouring the internet. Sure enough after a little more searching I found it on youtube in audio book form, and it was (and still is) 100% free. When I first began listening all I could focus on was how monotone and boring the book sounded, but at the time I wasn’t really listening. As the book sounded on I began to make connections, and I started to actually develop an understanding of what “The Now,” was.
"The now," is a state of pure being in which you sort of hone in completely on the present moment. You don’t let the moments of the past or thoughts of the future dictate the present moment; because there is only the present moment. In time I began to refine entering “The Now,” and once I became present in my workouts I was able to break the plateau. Now I’m guessing at this point you might have a hard time understanding what I mean, or maybe you just don't understand how to enter “The Now.”
Well don’t worry, I’m about to give you a practical experience in which I entered “The Now.” Remember that plateau I talked about earlier, well this is how I broke it. I got into position on the bench, closed my eyes, took one deep breath in, and held it. After a few seconds I exhaled, and repeated the process over and over. I focused only on what I could smell, hear, and feel. I felt the grit of the bar, smelt the stench of sweat and rubber, and without even realizing it my anxiety of not getting the 5 reps was gone. I sat still with my eyes closed and visualized myself getting the 5 reps as best as I possibly could. Sure enough I shattered the plateau, and have been making progress ever since!
If you liked this type of post be sure to let me know below in the comments down below. I’m going to try and post a Shifting the Paradigm at least once a week in which I’ll give my experience, and how I applied different teachings to overcome an obstacle in my life. Thank you for taking the time to read, and be sure to get check out The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle!