I remember a few years back I was on an early morning flight, couldn’t get internet, and for some reason or another, I missed a daily e-mail to all of you.
As I landed Kim was freaking out, she thought something happened to me, and we had a few clients call the gym asking where my e-mail was that comes to your inbox at noon every day.
It was 12:05.
As I landed, I scrambled to get one out, and all went well, but it was an eye-opening moment for me.
It's actually pretty easy to write this e-mail every morning at this point.
It has become a habit over the years, I enjoy writing, it’s kind of my morning journal, and I often just crack open my laptop in the morning and write whatever is on my mind, very rarely do I schedule this in advance…
But that’s not the real reason it’s easy…
I have thousands of people waiting to read it at noontime every day.
You are my accountability.
This makes it easy because I know I have to show up to you, you're counting on me to some degree.
Do you know what the hardest thing to do is, for all of us?
Work hard when no one is watching.
Think about it any facet of life...
It's easy to work hard when you have eyes on you, or people counting on you.
Whether that's in work, family, or fitness, if someone is watching you, or counting on you to get something done, it's easy to work hard.
We’re good and kind human beings and we don't want to disappoint others.
It's why the simple things like having to book your sessions and showing up to a coach greeting you (whether at the gym or online) every single day is so important to your accountability at Spurling.
There is someone watching you.
You damn well bet you’re probably going to get more out of it compared to if you just did your own thing, no one watching you, no accountability.
But...
Working hard when no one is watching is the hardest thing to do.
However, it's those that have this discipline that can quickly pull away from the pack and see some great results, in any facet of life.
Because there are always going to be moments where progress is made when you are working hard “behind the scenes.”
Let's look at a work situation...
You're in the office, you have things you could be doing, but there is nothing super urgent, and no one is watching you.
What do you do?
Do you putter around, checking social media, and just kill time?
That's the default because it's hard to work hard when no one is watching.
When it comes to fitness...
Do you get up before the kids get up and get a workout in?
Do you say no to the sweets at 9pm, even if no one will know but you that you ate it?
Do you honestly track what you eat?
The hardest thing to do is work hard when no one is watching, but it's in those moments, if optimized, you can make the biggest strides in your progress.
I challenge you to look at one opportunity where you can be honest with yourself and change your efforts towards a time where you know you're currently not working hard because you know no one is watching.
1% Better.
Dedicated to Your Success,
Doug Spurling