To say my gym is mediocre would be an understatement. I’ve tried to switch gyms a couple of times, but I keep coming back to my same old mediocre gym.
Even though it doesn’t have the best equipment or amenities, I think the people keep pulling me back.
I like going early in the morning, and there’s a core group of people I see each morning when I walk through those doors. Most of the time, we don’t say anything to each other… a simple head nod or a wave seems to put the crew at ease. Anytime someone else walks in, you can feel uneasiness amongst the morning regulars.
What’s interesting is that as time has passed, we all seem to understand everyone’s routine and respect each other’s space. There are a few people who like to do some weird movements, but no one bats an eye because we all understand that’s their thing.
Over the past couple of months, this elderly gentleman has been coming in to take a shower around the time I’m finishing my session. Occasionally, I’ll be in the locker room as he’s getting dressed, and we’ll strike up a conversation.
Just for context, the gym and locker room are small, so everyone is in proximity to one another.
During the short time I’ve been seeing this gentleman, I’ve started looking forward to our little five-minute chats. I don’t know much about him except that he used to be a sales manager years ago, and he obviously had a good relationship with his parents and had a great deal of respect for his dad’s wisdom.
Somehow… someway, he always has words of advice for me before I leave the gym and start my workday.
One of our first interactions was a simple, “How’s it going?”, followed by some small talk. At some point during the short exchange, I said, “We’re all just trying to make it”. He paused for a second and said, “I don’t think that’s true”.
Of course, I was shocked by the response, and then he said, “I don’t think you’re just trying to make it, I think you’re trying to thrive”. He followed that up with, “If you were just trying to make it, you wouldn’t be in here consistently, working out, early in the morning before starting work. The only people that do that are those that are trying to do something extra… not just make it.”
I looked at him and said, “You’re right”. We said our goodbyes, and I went on with my day.
Now, I’m accustomed to chatting with him once or twice a week because he always leaves me with something to think about.
Last week, he asked me how my workout was, and I told him it was good. I guess he could tell from looking at me that I wasn’t my same, spunky self.
The next thing he said to me was, “You know what the best workout is?” I looked up at him, anxiously awaiting his response, and he said, “The one you didn’t feel like doing”. “You told your mind and your body that you’re the boss”. Then he said, “I’ll leave you with this. I remember hearing the late Kobe Bryant say, you can make excuses, or you can make progress, but you can’t do both. Remember, that applies to everything, not just sports”.
Once again, he left me with something else to think about as I got ready to start my workday.