Time under tension = business success
Our minds and bodies are fantastic things. The range of environments and experiences we can adapt to in life is incredible. But not many of us deliberately seek out the extreme. This is completely understandable; while we can handle the outer edges of the human experience, our survival instincts are so strong that we’ve become experts at avoiding unnecessary pain.
This is useful for avoiding modern dangers, like Sunday trips to Ikea. Not so useful for achieving our entrepreneurial and professional goals.
Aversion to pain
My work ethic is pretty intense by most standards. I’m up early, around 4am, to get to work and to workout and then it’s straight back to my businesses. I’m working on trains, I’m on hands-free in the car managing my people, I’m flying to the States, Asia and the Middle East for client meetings, and of course, running the company from head office. It’s hectic.
When people ask me about achieving similar success levels, they flinch when they hear my schedule. It’s a lot of hard work and people don’t like the sound of that. They reconsider their commitment to success. That’s the survival instinct again; adjusting their mindset and justifying their excuses to themselves. They let their dreams shrink or let them go completely. This has its own cost.
The cost of plateauing
Avoiding discomfort is a great way to stay where you are. If you’re happy with that, and many are, that’s fine. That’s your way. But for those of you who want to do more and be more successful than you are right now, you need to know that following the natural instinct to back off will keep you at your current level. You’ll plateau.
Only by trying and failing will you force your mind and body to adapt to the pressures that come at the higher levels of things; business, fitness and even your personal life.
Time Under Tension (TUT)
It’s time to start testing your current limits and pushing them further. When it comes to fitness, we regularly talk about Time Under Tension (TUT). It’s a principle I absolutely love and take to heart. It refers to a strength and conditioning concept which looks at how much time a muscle group is under strain.
The idea is that the longer a muscle is under tension, the harder it works, the greater its potential for growth and adaptation in time. With the correct movement, of course. In the end, you perform better.
Take this out further and it applies to life. The top level athletes out there live and breathe TUT. The hours they put in and the intensity levels they reach is what puts them above everyone else. They push their limits more than anyone and so they have more success. It’s painful and it requires sacrifice but it gets them to where they want to be.
Entrepreneurs should be learning from them. Everyone should. What could you achieve if you ignored that initial flash of fear?
The right kind of pain
As an entrepreneur, it’s time to start looking for the right kind of discomfort. The kind you find at the edges of your ability. I’m not talking about long hours in the office when you’re really just wasting time with fake work. I’m talking about serious business workouts.
Blitz your brain with new subject knowledge about emerging markets and marketing techniques. Increase your sales calls by 10%. Start putting 100% into every lead, not just the easy ones. Fit in two extra hours of product development when you wake, while others sleep.
Seek your own discomfort
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, fitness buff, professional or family focused, I urge you to start testing and pushing your own limits. It’s so worth it:
- Have a big goal you’re committed to
2. Tattoo the TUT principle into your mindset
3. Make the right move, don’t just move
4. Move towards your limits consistently
A lot of people take their foot off the pedal when they begin to feel discomfort and so never achieve what they set out to. They never get anywhere. Be the opposite. Push the pedal down harder and hold on. Force your mind and body to gain the strength to handle whatever your next level may be.
