How to Stop Grinding and Start Living

With dedication, discipline, and passion you can achieve any goal. But they have to be guided, controlled, and channeled correctly.

Just like a Ferrari needs a driver and a prize-winning horse needs a jockey, some of our most powerful attributes need to be harnessed and guided. When it comes to losing fat, building muscle, getting strong… we tend to put our blinders on and charge, full-steam ahead. And you can be the biggest, baddest, most disciplined and passionate ladder climber in the world, but if the ladder is leaning on the wrong wall, it doesn’t matter how well you climb it. Your talents and efforts will be wasted and misguided.

That’s why we grind until we get hurt in the gym, or diet until our metabolism tanks. Don’t let your best qualities become your enemies… use them to propel you past your wildest dreams!

Don’t Mistake Movement for Progress… How Sharp Is Your Saw?

Imagine you’re working hard to saw down trees in a forest. Day after day, you really hack away at it. You make time for it in your busy day. You wake up early and get after it, even though there are times you’d rather stay in bed. And you’re getting pretty good at it. You’re determined. You’re motivated. You have desire. You have strength of body and mind.

On this particular day, your arms are burning more than usual, and fatigue is catching up to you, but it doesn’t faze you because you have a goal and nothing will prevent you from working hard to achieve it. Someone may call your name, but your intense focus keeps you sawing. You may feel a sharp pain in your shoulder, but you think, “No pain no gain,” and you saw harder.

Then someone approaches you and asks, “What are you doing?”

You reply, “What does it look like? I’m sawing this tree down!”

The person replies, “It seems like you’re really killing yourself there. How long have you been at it?”

“Over three hours already! I’m really exhausted and in quite a bit of pain, but it’ll be worth it in the end. After all, you have to put the work in to achieve a goal. On top of that, I notice myself getting better at it as the days go on… I can saw faster and harder.”

“I see, I see. Might I make a suggestion? Why don’t you stop sawing for a bit and…”

You interrupt: “How else am I going to get this done? I have to work hard. I have to stay focused. I have to endure the pain and suffering and if it kills me, so be it! Anyway, you’re probably just going to say, ‘Take a break. Relax for a little while. Take some time off. Stop beating yourself up. One little break won’t destroy your progress. Is cutting down that tree really worth it?’ Spare me; I’ve heard it all. No one and nothing is going to stand in my way of sawing this tree down. I don’t expect you to understand that!”

Then the person calmly says, “I was only going to suggest that you stop for a moment and sharpen the saw [1]. You’d be able to make more progress working with a sharp saw. Ten minutes of sharpening the saw would be more productive than another hour of sawing with that dull blade.”

“I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,” you reply. “I’m too busy sawing.”

The Paradigm Shift

When it comes to nutrition and exercise, our constant focus on the short term is flawed. We get too focused on the here and now. We grind away, sawing away without looking up to see if we are even cutting the right tree. We get trapped in a positive feedback loop because as we grind, we get better at grinding.

We get better at sawing the wrong trees with dull blades.

And as Tim Ferriss says, “Doing something unimportant well does not make it important [2].” So, how do we step back from it all? How do we sharpen our saw? Here are a few examples, in no particular order.

1. Education, Education, Education

Never stop learning. Never stop absorbing information from reputable resources. A quick and dirty way to tell if a source is reputable is to be aware of the language used. Reputable resources will use words like, “it depends,” “it appears to be,” “it is my interpretation of the most recent research that…,” “I could be wrong…,” “my views on this will likely be different as more information comes out,” “adherence and consistency matter more than…,” “there are no magic solutions or shortcuts,” “I sell a product, but you do not have to necessarily buy it,” and “everyone is different, so find what works for you.” Making time to pump the breaks and educate yourself is one of the most powerful ways to sharpen a saw. Absorb the information, interpret it for yourself, and apply it.

2. Don’t Forget to Bring Others Along

Taking time to sit down and bring your family and loved ones up to speed on your goals can be an invaluable way to sharpen a saw. As time- and energy-consuming as they are, exercising and dieting have a tendency to isolate and push away friends and family. But it doesn’t have to be like that as long as you explain your goals and the journey you’ll follow to get there. Once they see and feel your passion, they should understand a bit more. The goal here isn’t to get everyone on board with you, because there will no doubt be those who don’t agree or support you. That’s fine. What matters is taking the time to bring them along with you.

3. Be Flexible with Diet/Nutrition

Taking a flexible approach to diet and nutrition is another excellent way to sharpen a saw. Research has shown that taking a flexible approach rather than a strict, restrictive approach to diet and nutrition yields improvements in both consistency and adherence. Consistency and adherence trump all else when it comes to both nutrition and training. If having a structured and rigid meal plan allows you to adhere for the long-term, by all means, go for it! If you can sustain what you’re doing for the rest of your life, you can be sure that you are not being blinded by the short-term here and now.

If you can’t do it forever, why do it for six weeks?

4. Refeeds and Diet Breaks

Strategically scheduling refeeds and diet breaks during a weight loss regimen is another great way to stop sawing and start sharpening. Using refeeds and diet breaks may help with fat loss as well as improve both consistency and adherence better than a steady grind to the finish line. As always, it depends on the individual. Refeeds and diet breaks take your foot off the gas for the sake of steady long-term results. This is important: the “hardest” diet isn’t always the best diet.

5. Training Deloads

Implementing deloads in training is another classic example of pulling back from the attractiveness of the here and now in order to invest in the long-term. It’s the mindset of most avid exercisers to grind and go 100% (beast mode, HAM, etc.) every time they set foot in the gym. The goal becomes to max out, reach and exceed failure, and get sore after each training session to feel accomplished. Take a week to lower intensity and volume to improve long-term success. Stop sawing to sharpen the saw. It seems simple enough, but many struggle with this concept. Just like ten minutes of sharpening may be more beneficial than hours of sawing with a dull blade, one week of deloading may be more beneficial than months of consistent grinding for the sake of grinding.

6. Be Proactive About Your Physical Health

Seek out a qualified healthcare practitioner, such as a physical therapist, for an assessment before an injury occurs. It hurts me to know that so many people work hard day-in and day-out only to develop serious injuries. When I see them in the clinic, it’s already too late. As a physical therapist and natural bodybuilder, I have personally treated and worked to prevent these common injuries. I tend to hear, “That’s old age for you, don’t get old.” “I’ve worked out my whole life and now it’s catching up to me.” “These things just come with hard training.” “I just ‘messed’ up my shoulder/knee/back in the gym.” WRONG! Exercise isn’t dangerous so long as we keep our saws sharp.

Focus on the Journey

For someone caught in the positive feedback loop of grinding for the sake of grinding, slowing down may seem like a sign of weakness. The arbitrary bar of “necessary” work that needs to be done to feel accomplished has been set and pulling back the reins to sharpen the saw will likely feel like a cop-out: something others do because they simply can’t “hang.” We cannot work hard just for the sake of working hard. As Eric Helms has said, “The goal isn’t to work hard. The goal is to make progress [3].” Flexible dieting and refeeding feel good. Deloading feels good. The common misconception is that if we feel good, we must not be working hard enough. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

This goes for life, as well. If you’re the kind of person that looks at your week and in the middle of the week you’re saying to yourself, “3 more days until it’s Friday!” “2 more days until it’s Friday!” “It’s finally Friday!” If you’re not loving every day, you’re setting yourself up to be unhappy. There’s no “I’ll be happy when I get this or I’ll be happy when that happens…” You have to love that journey of getting to that goal of being happy. Pumping the brakes and sharpening the saw can help you take a step back and reassess your goals and journey on the way there. Otherwise, your head will stay down as you saw the wrong tree.

Getting Started

At first, it will seem like there is no time for saw-sharpening in an already full schedule. This type of thinking is flawed. It’s the “keep sawing” mindset (focusing on the short term) instead of the “stop and sharpen” mindset (focusing on the long-term and reassessing goals and journeys). If you feel there is no time for “sharpening” in your current exercise program, you need to be proactive and make time for it. Adjust. Adapt. As with the saw, you will not only perform more efficiently but also more safely and productively. This change will not be easy. Change never is. It takes courage, hard work, and self-control to stop sawing. It’s hard to fight the force of our habits.

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed the first men on the moon. Where do you think the most energy was used throughout the journey? Perhaps traveling a quarter of a million miles to the moon? Landing on the moon? Taking off from the moon? Returning to earth? Turns out, more energy was spent in the first minutes of liftoff from earth than during the entire rest of the journey combined [4]. Once they overcame Earth’s gravity, the shuttle broke into orbit used very little energy to continue the mission. Our old habits are powerful forces holding us back, much like Earth’s gravity. It takes intense effort to change our habits and spark new ways of thinking. Once we break that initial resistance, the rest of the journey is nearly effortless. “Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win [5].”

Find the Right Tree

Find a journey that you’re passionate about and that is true to your core values. Find that beautiful intersection between your talents, skills, passion, and conscience and use it to help people. Leave a legacy of meaningful contributions that make the world better because you were here. If you love the journey, I think you’re going to be much happier in striving for your goals.

Don’t let your hard work, dedication, and sacrifice do more harm than good. You can make the change. You are the writer of the story of your life, not a character in it. Be proactive, take control of your life, and spark that change. Believe me, it will be worth it. John F. Kennedy describes a man who asked his gardener to plant a tree.

“The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. The man replied, ‘In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’” [6]

References

1. Covey, SR (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster.
2. Ferris, T (2009). The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. New York, NY: Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC; 70.
3. JPS Health & Fitness. “Eric Helms & Mike Israetel- Individual Differences in Lifting Psychology Podcast Episode 40.” Published May 17, 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU6k83vc5SA. Accessed May 20, 2018.
4. Covey, SR (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York, NY: Free Press.
5. Weick, KE (1984). “Small Wins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems,” American Psychologist 39: 40–49.
6. Thomsen, B (2010). The Dream That Will Not Die: Inspiring Words of John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy. New York, NY: Macmillan.