I’m so HardCORE!

I’m so HardCORE!

On Thanksgiving I brought my Tupperware of grilled chicken and broccoli to the dinner table; I’m so HardCORE! At the company Christmas party everybody was eating cookies. I was drinking a protein shake; I’m so HardCore! At Christmas dinner my family had ham and pie. I had tilapia and greens; I’m so HardCORE! On New Year’s Eve while everyone was out drinking I was getting in my last gym session at night, alone; I’m so HardCORE!

Who else saw all these posts on people’s Face Book wall all Holiday season long? Come on let’s not be shy we all saw them and rolled our eyes!

These posts were everywhere.  Letting the world know how hardcore they are. They never break, they are always ready, they are a beast and you need to know it! Alright then, fine, you are super hardcore; enjoy your day. I’ll be over here living a life filled with balance and happiness. Have a nice day.

Example.

We see this all the time. People bragging about the sacrifices they made to get where they are. How we need to be impressed that they are so dedicated that they gave up everything to get to the top. At least now we know why we have the phrase “it’s lonely at the top”.  I am not impressed with anyone who gives up everything to reach their goals. I am impressed when a person is able to reach their life goals while maintaining friendships, a great family life, true balance. That is impressive. I believe that the people who are constantly letting us know that they are so hardcore can’t admit they have made some wrong choices. Rather than admit that, they instead hide behind this wall letting the world know that they are better than you. They make more sacrifices than you therefore they will win over you. Basically folks the subtext of someone telling you how hardcore they are is someone telling you how much better they are than you.

You need better friends.

For example; if you love the meme “Like if going to the gym is the best part of your day”you need to reevaluate your life. The best part of your day should be coming home to a loved one, or to family and friends. The gym is an awesome place, I love it, and I love the results I get from it. BUT!!! The gym is not a friend, it does not love you back, and it will never comfort you. Yes it is a great stress reducer but it is a place not a person. The same goes for food. If you only allow yourself grilled chicken and tilapia with greens you are missing out. Again I’m not impressed with your lack of creativity. Spending all day in the gym and eating by yourself doesn’t make you hardcore, it makes you alone. How long you can truly sustain this super hardcore lifestyle? How long can you sustain getting your happiness from random people “liking”your #flexfriday pictures? Health and fitness is all about sustainability along with a mental sense of sustainability. Being super hardcore will eventually catch up with you. When you realize that you are all alone, truly alone. That your face book friends are just that, face book friends, people who don’t know the real you; only the person you project yourself to be on social media.

What I love to see are the people who are committed to health and fitness living a full life. A life filled with friends and family. I love to see the person who has achieved their goals surrounded by support from real people. That is a beautiful thing. Yes living a healthier lifestyle will sometimes mean you can’t always go out for drinks and dinner. Yes you will have to work around plans to get yourself into the gym. Achieving any goal will require some kind of sacrifice. If you are competitor in any sport there will be sacrifice. Looking at bodybuilding specifically yes there will be multiple times you will have to say no (mostly during prep). Yes if you are prepping through the holidays you will need to watch what you eat. You may need to bring some Tupperware to the party. That doesn’t make you hardcore (subtext I’m better than you). It makes you a person prepping for a sport. The same way we needed to stay in and study during finals week. Proper preparation makes you dedicated, not hardcore, not better than anyone else.

Let me stress this point home. Prepping for anything that you want is important. There will be long days, early mornings and late nights. If you want to be the best and be at the top you will need to put in some serious work. There is no way to escape that. HOWEVER! There is no point in doing it alone. What would be the point of winning the overall title and the only people in the audience cheering are cheering because you won the title not because they love you as a family or friend can. The prize for being hardcore and better than people is a lonely life. The prize for having a balance is family and friendship.

For example I work two jobs right now. I give them both everything I have. I am working on turning myself into a bodybuilder. I work 6 days a week. I also have the most wonderful wife I could ever have asked for. There was a time when I was sacrificing all my time and never seeing her. I was trying to fit in time with her between the gym over the weekend. Everything but her came first. Work, than lift, than prep, than if I have time leftover I can see my wife. That went on for about 8 months. How do you think Heather (my wife) felt constantly being pushed aside? Do you think that may have caused a few problems? It did; lots of problems. Finally Heather broke; she was done with being pushed aside. That was not what she signed up for when I asked her to marry me. So now after pulling my head out of the sand and seeing reality I switched gears. The only day she and I both have off from work is Saturday. So that became our day. No Orangetheory, no Fitastic, no training, no prepping, no nothing. Saturday is our day to do whatever we want. Go out to dinner; sit around all day in sweat pants watching HGTV. Whatever we want to do that day we do. We couldn’t be happier. I had no balance and was constantly cranky and nearly lost the best thing that ever happened to me. Now I have balance, I’m happy, I’m seeing results and I have more fun. It’s amazing what can happen when you open your eyes to the reality of the situation.

In reaching your goals; you have two options. 1) Be hardcore, never break and let the world know you will succeed because you are more hardcore than them or 2) Have balance and give yourself the opportunity to have it all; success and someone to share it with.  Choose wisely.

Wild Will Wilson

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