What's Next?

What's Next?

By now it's no secret that I fell short of my goal. I wasn't able to complete a 10K row every hour on the hour for 33 hours. And, to be completely honest, that pisses me off. I'm pissed off that I let myself and others down. I'm pissed off that I gave in and lost. I found myself in the fight of my life taking blow after blow until eventually I laid down and surrendered.

In my world, that's simply unacceptable.

But it was NOT a total failure. I learned a ton and I'm still on the path to where I want to go and the overall mission that I want to achieve. This is merely a setback. A bump in the road. One that will only make me stronger as I grow and attack future endeavors. With that being said, it's okay to be upset about the result of my last event. In fact, it shows me that I truly care about what I'm doing and I'm invested in this mission.

I have a rule where I celebrate successes and get pissed off about failures. It's simply human nature to do both of these things. It's ingrained in our DNA. I don't set a timetable on when I'm going to stop enjoying or being pissed off either. I use both as fuel for the next. In fact, I always have my eyes focused on What's Next. I'm constantly seeking out the next challenge and adventure because, no matter what, there's always a new mountain to climb and conquer. I don't care who you are.

With all of this being said, I'm already planning my encore. Even though I fell short last time I'm seeking to do something that might just be harder than that rowing event. And I'm going to be doing it very soon. It's to show people that, yes it's okay to fail, but no it's not okay to not get up and try again and again. Even if you fall flat on your face over and over. I'm looking to once again push myself to a place I've never gone mentally and physically and this time, I'm looking to do it mostly alone. I'm looking to get out my shovel in the middle of the night and force myself to dig. But most importantly, I'm forcing myself to find the answers deep within myself. I'm not even going to give myself the opportunity to draw on the energy of those around me.

No matter what happens, if you fail or you succeed, always keep your eyes forward and on the path of where you want to go. Every single day challenge yourself and ask yourself this simple question: What's Next?

If you don't constantly ask yourself this question then you'll find yourself being stuck with where you are. And I have a rule where if I don't think I'm getting better then I know I'm getting worse. It's that simple. Don't settle for mediocrity and don't live through your past successes. One of the worst things we can possibly say is "I used to be good at that" or "I used to be able to do this". Forget that. Make today the best day of your life. Make this version of you the best version of you there ever was. Then, repeat this tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. Continue to push the needle and make yourself better and better. You don't do this by standing still and letting things, or life, come to you. You do this by waking up every single morning and asking yourself, What's Next?

Get After It.

Up Before You.