An Epilogue: This One Has a Lot of Swear Words
This whole weekly newsletter thing has opened up a lot of unexpected doors for me.
Here’s one: the little series I did on 12 Beliefs About Goals—well, I’ve decided to turn it into a book.
Yikes! I just said that “out loud”!
To a bunch of people.
Well, at least I’m holding true to one of my beliefs: Tell a lot of people about it.
Time will tell if it holds true, yet, again.
Here was my thinking in putting this stake in the ground: if Jordan Peterson has a book titled 12 Rules for Life, why in the world can’t I have a book titled 12 Beliefs About Goals!?!
I decided: I can!
And that’s the fun thing about goals—about the story you’ve always wanted to tell:
In committing to something—putting that stake in the ground—and then consistently taking the necessary steps, you increase the likelihood of turning your dream into your reality.
There’s Already a Problem, Though
I’ve identified a 13th belief—and it’s all Deb Orringer’s fault.
Who?
Head down to Naples, FL and show up for a swim practice on a Saturday morning at T2 Aquatics—she’ll be the one who puts you in your place.
The Masters group at T2 Aquatics is a magical little swim group. The cast of characters in and out of the water coupled with the incredible work that gets done each practice makes for a special place.
One of the best parts of the swim program is that there is a different coach on the pool deck each day of the week. And, each coach has their own flare.
Deb Orringer certainly has her own flare.
She’s stern.
She writes ridiculously hard workouts.
She yells.
She swears.
And, through it all, we laugh.
The 13th Belief: Have Fun
If I could summarize one of Deb’s workouts it would go like this:
“Okay, you’re going to start [expletive] fast. Then, you’re going to get a lot faster. And then, you’re going to finish the set swimming [expletive] faster than you’ve ever swam before. Oh, and we’re going to do that five [expletive] times. And, [expletive] yeah, each time we go through it, you’re going to get faster…a lot [expletive] faster. And, I better not see any of you with any [expletive] equipment—you know who you are!”
I’ve found myself on multiple occasions during a Deb-fueled workout thinking (with a huge grin on my face): “that isn’t even possible.”
But, that’s the amazing part: it is possible.
Because we’re having fun.
“Holy [Expletive]! I Can’t Believe I Just Did That!”
That’s a side effect of one of Deb’s workouts.
The disbelief.
And, yes, the swearing!
All while having fun.
I was reminded of this last Saturday when I did my final swim workout with the group as our 2-week vacation in Naples was wrapping up.
Deb was being Deb: stern, yelling, and swearing.
And, per usual, the workout just kept getting harder and harder and harder.
And, we were all loving it.
The comments within the pool were a semblance of a swimming peanut gallery: we all had things to say to make each other laugh with each new component of the workout that Deb delivered or comment that came out of her mouth.
The amount of laughter and joking around and within the pool seemed to be at an all-time high.
But, here was the thing: despite the laughter and fun we were all having, we were working really hard.
For myself, I was doing things that I didn’t think were possible.
“Holy [expletive]! I can’t believe I just did that!” was running on repeat in my head.
The ridiculousness of it all forced me to just let go and, well, just swim—like I never had before.
All because of Deb.
Because I was having fun.
Because I was playing.
I guess during it all I was reminded of childhood when I’d look over at my best friend while we were out riding bikes and say, “I’ll race you to that stop sign.”
And, we’d just go—like we had never gone before.
Have Fun: Play Within Your Goal
In the goal-chasing process, it’s a must.
At least that’s my belief.
It’s a must for two reasons:
The Obvious: It’s simply going to keep you going. If you’re not having fun, what in the world is going to keep you in the goal-chasing process?
The Surprise: Fun opens up the door to play. And play opens up the door to possibilities that you didn’t know existed. Play allows you to surprise yourself with what’s actually possible within the goal-chasing process.
When we have fun—when we play—we are able to do things we wouldn’t normally do.
So, have fun.
If you do, you’re gonna blow your [expletive] mind of what’s possible.
All because of you, Deb…many, many thanks!
