Muscle for Life

When you look at a celebrity on T.V., a rising star in the office, or an impressively fit person at the gym, it’s easy to attribute their success to in-born talent, circumstance, and luck. This is especially true when it comes to fitness, because your results are inextricably tied to your genetics. That is, you can work just as hard as someone else or even harder, and they still might get better results in the end. And once you realize this, it becomes very easy to rationalize your lack of progress. That person is stronger than you? Must be nice to have so much time to work out. That person is more muscular than you? Must be nice to have won the genetic lottery. That person is leaner than you? If only you had their metabolism. This kind of fixed mindset is comforting, but it’s also pernicious. It erodes your self confidence, saps your motivation, and poisons your perception of what you can achieve. And it overlooks something even more important than genetics, upbringing, and luck for achieving your goals: Gri