Only in the leap from the lion’s head will he prove his worth.
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade is one of my favorite movies of all time. Followed closely by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Then The Shawshank Redemption. (curve ball)
I used to watch The Last Crusade with bated breath until the scenes where Indy has to cross through the three gates to choose the Holy Grail. I’m not going to describe what happens during that part of the movie because if you haven’t seen it, you need to stop reading this and go watch it right now.
Seriously.
Do it.
Now.
Those are the scenes where the magic happened.
Indy has to use his cunning and his mediocre spelling skills to follow the path to the grail. Despite my love of spelling and circular saws that come out of the wall, the gate I always liked the best was the Leap From The Lion’s Head.
This is actually a phrase I frequently use in conversation when I’m talking to people about doing things that are scary. Or taking on something that seems out of reach. Or pushing themselves in a way they never have before.
Even when leaping from the lion’s head is hard.
Of course, it’s hard. It’s supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.
Hi. My name is Prime and I’m an introvert.
I recently got invited to head to a fitness business conference that would have 1,000+ other attendees there and last 3 days. The fourth day was scheduled to be a much smaller conference with a group of around 30 fitness professionals where I was scheduled to have my business picked apart in front of everybody.
You might think that would be a nightmare for a self-professed shy introvert.
You’d be right.
My initial reaction was “Fuck no.” Followed by a plan to change my name, run away, and save up money to have my face cosmetically altered.
But I decided to leap from the lion’s head instead.
I left my safe, comfortable bubble in Bremerton for the wilds of San Diego to spend time with 1,000 people I didn’t know at all and 30 people that I had only met through the internet.
I went into the trip knowing that it was going to be a test for me. That I would have to step really far outside of my comfort zone. That it was going to be awkward and anxiety producing.
It was.
And I decided to embrace the discomfort.
To be outstanding — get comfortable being uncomfortable.
ALRIK KOUDENBURG
There’s a battle of wills that occurs every time I head to the gym to workout. An epic struggle waged between the part of me that is hell bent on pushing my body hard and seeing what comes out at the end and the part that wants to go read/eat cookies on the couch instead.
In reality, I mostly complete my training days to prove that I can.
It’s like a weird “fuck you” to myself that also, somehow isn’t a “fuck you” at all.
My body tries to tell my mind that it doesn’t want to, doesn’t feel like it, can’t. And my mind tells my body, “I’ll show you.” And proceeds to do just that.
Needless to say, I workout with a perma-scowl on my face.
About a week ago, for #workoutwednesday, I shared with my email list an exercise that I do at the end of every leg day. It’s something my trainer has affectionately dubbed BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS O’ DEATH.
I love Bulgarian Split Squats o’ Death even though they suck. Hard. They’re difficult. They’re uncomfortable. But…Bulgarian Split Squats o’ Death have done two things for me:
- Forced me to train my grit muscle as well as my leg muscles. They are literally the last thing that I want to do after training legs for 90 minutes. But making myself do them anyway is good for my soul. Probably.
- Made every leg day workout end not with a bang, but a whimper. And an army crawl out the doors. Seriously, I nearly face plant every time I wobble my way down the stairs after these.
That doesn’t even take into account the crazy good balance and muscular endurance I’ve built up in my legs since starting them either.
I could skip them. No one would know. And, to be honest, some days I really, really want to. Once I even left the gym, got to my car, then decided to come back in a finish.
Why?
Good things can come from forcing yourself to be uncomfortable.
Indiana Jones lands safely on a well-hidden ledge, chooses wisely, and saves his father’s life.
I met a bunch of rad fitness experts, collected lots of good stuff for you to see in the future, and made a big step in growing my business.
When I step on the track, no matter how tired I am, nothing is as bad as pushing myself through those Bulgarian Split Squats o’ Death.
Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is where growth comes from. And putting yourself in situations where you’re uncomfortable makes it easier to be uncomfortable the next time.
You can’t control exactly how leaving your comfort zone is going to go. It won’t always end well. But if you let discomfort scare you, you will never push yourself hard enough or far enough to get better.
Go ahead. Take the leap from the lion’s head.