We often find ourselves staring at our reflections in mirrors or glancing down at numbers reflecting our weight on scales. Some of us become delighted at our results, and others discouraged when we fall short of our “ideal” self. I have found that my greatest personal skill is knowing how to effectively alter my physique to reach specific athletic goals. I believe that talents are something we are born with, but skills are something we must learn, foster, and improve upon over time. I deeply believe that even if a person is not talented at something, they can develop the skills needed to become skilled at that pursuit. They can become great, if and only if, they are consistent and repetitive with their daily efforts in striving toward that goal (whether it be athletically or otherwise).  I have had three separate athletic pursuits that have all aided in the development of my greatest, self-perceived, skill.

In Martial Arts, I developed flexibility, reflexes, muscle-memory and speed. Repetition was the mother of these physical skills. I was taught to throw the same kick thousands of times: striving for perfect execution with every kick. I watched my aptitude develop as I was able to demonstrate that skill by being able to break boards consistently and effortlessly for my Black Belt testing in the Mixed Martial Arts Style of “Taekwondo.” I instructed others in Taekwondo for quite some time before pursing a different style of Martial Arts, called “Hawaiian Kempo.” Through consistency and hard work, I was able to develop the skills necessary to begin instructing others in that style of Martial Arts as well.

Knowing that nobody is born with the ability to break boards or throw the perfect round-kick, these acquired skill proved to me the I can develop physical skills through diligent effort. Without the tedious and physically demanding training sessions where I would kicking bags, the air, or people (thousands and thousand of times over again throughout the years), I would not have been able to develop that skillset I hold today. Did I want to stand there all sweaty and exhausted for hours as I continued kicking? Absolutely not. Did I want to go to training every day I had that commitment? No at all, but I did. This is the difference between those who are successful and those who are not; those who are successful do the “undesirable” things they need to do in order to get better, even if they don’t “feel” like doing it.

There is no such thing as perfection, in any regards, however consistent repetition will get you very close to it, and it will help you reach your goals. Not only that, but it will also teach you what it means to think “long-term.” In other words, going through something we deem “undesirable” in the moment, teaches us that we are doing it because it will make us better in the long run. This is a subconscious knowledge that completing difficult task(s), be it physically, mentally or emotionally, will lead us to success. The path to achievement of ones goal(s) comes bundled together with hard work. However, nothing worth doing was (or ever will be) “easy.” If we truly are determined to accomplish something, we can’t let our feelings in the “now” dictate the results we will see tomorrow. Days add up and well as our efforts.

On a similar note, I had to learn that it is ok to have less-productive days, but it is never ok to give up a day in exchange for becoming a full-time couch potato. No one ever got anything done by bumming it on his or her couch. If a goal really is that important to you, you shouldn’t want to put it off or “skip” the day in exchange for “relaxation.” By doing this, you are only setting yourself another day further from reaching your goal.

Instead, a person should get up from their couch and do something, anything, that progresses them toward their goal. Even if a person feels that their action(s) for that day may not be as “productive” or “effective” as past days, he or she would still be lapping everyone who chose to bum it on their couches. Our choice to strive for greatness should not be influenced by our emotions, but rather we should be directed by our desires for something greater than what we currently have. If there is no will, there will never be a way; we should pursue those things that we are actually passionate about, because then it won’t feel like a chore, but instead just a positive challenge that will propel us toward success.

One of my favorite Google-quotes goes as follows; “hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.” I find this quote particularly appealing due to how it exemplifies that a person does not need to have talent in order to achieve their goals. Simply speaking, all a person needs to achieve their goals (by growing their skills and developing new talents) is a strong work ethic and desire; more often than not, this is expressed in the form of “hard work,” and “repetition.” You, just like everyone else, are not born with a particular skill to attain that goal or result you desire. Fortunately, what you are born with (and what is engrained into you from your guardians as you grow up) is a work ethic.

My definition of a “work ethic” is the following; “how hard a person is willing to push themselves on a daily basis and works towards a particular goal they have.” “Pushing oneself” is relative from person to person; some individuals are equipped with the skills or “talents” to naturally have an easier time doing certain things than others. However, by utilizing your own talents and skills, you can work as hard (or harder than) a different person with the exact same goal. Friendly competition never hurt anybody, because by surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals, you will drastically grow and improve. Because of this, what you can do to reach your personal goal(s) is to strive to push yourself as hard as possible on a daily basis.

In my early teens, I played competitive club volleyball. This was my second athletically demanding pursuit. I was not tall enough to compete for the position I wanted to play as at the time. To compensate for my height deficiency, I spent hours a day studying footage of professional volleyball players and I spent hours in the gym emulating their training regimens. Through utilizing my persistent, focused and diligent work ethic (this long-term thinking took time and struggle to develop), I increased my vertical jump by a few dozen inches. Likewise, you potentially lack the “talent” you need to achieve your personal goal(s). This means that you need to put yourself out there and put in that hard work needed to develop the skills that will help you reach your goal.

Lastly, now standing at five foot ten inches, I decided to earn extra money for school, grow my savings account, and have more money for fun activities, through consistently working towards securing modeling work in the fashion industry. However, the challenge was that I had built up a lot of muscle from previous physical bodybuilding interests, and was far from having the “ideal measurements” to meet fashion industry standards. My goal was to loose weight in a healthy and sustainable way this time. This demanded a a new training regimen. Now, on top of eating specific foods for lean muscle retention, I run, train my core daily, and I do a full-body weight room session every other day. I have learned to be consistent in my efforts, because physical results come only when one is consistent.

These three life experiences over the last thirteen years have helped me identify my strengths, develop my skill for effectively altering my physique to reach my goals (whatever they may be at the time), and I feel that they have highly influenced the person I have become. I did not come out of my mothers womb with the “talent” to throw the perfect round kick, jump several feet in the air, or have a sculpted core appear in photos taken of me. I had to learn to place my emotions in the “now” aside in order to achieve the things I desired in the long-run. I had to accept the fact that not every day is going to be a “good” day, but that I had (and have) the choice to chose failure or success. These athletic pursuits had to be developed upon, as I worked daily, towards reaching those goals I had. Likewise, whether or not you are born with a particular talent, taking action of your life through persistent daily effort and repetition, you too will reach the goal(s) you have set out to.