F#CK LUCK

Don’t mind the header. I have a perfectly good explanation for the title of this post.

Today, after a long day coaching I came home to a pleasant surprise. It was a package from two of my closest friends in the States. On it it said,

“Dear Irving, we saw this and thought of you, the hardest worker we know. Love Courtney and Brent.”

Inside the package was a beanie – I love caps, beanies, shoes and bags (Ok, I’m a bit of a girl with the shoes and bags. Yes. JUST A BIT.) On this beanie were two words – “F#CK LUCK”.

Why do those two words mean so much? Well, here goes.

Before I was a trainer, I worked in a record store for 6 years. Everyday, after lunch, my then boss would check the sales, and if it wasn’t up to his expectations, he would kick up a fuss. We would explain to him that there wasn’t anyone during the lunch crowd because of the rain, or that the mall was empty that day, but he’d have none of it. Needless to say, me and my peers found him unreasonable.

Here’s where he did make some sense though – ” You didn’t service the customer well enough for them to want to come back bad enough.” This was 21 years ago and till today, if I ever lose any business (Which I wanted to keep), I have that mentality stuck in my head.

So if I’m not getting the results intended from my training, who should I be blaming?

That’s right. Me.

In the gym, if my lifts drop because of a layoff, I sometimes find myself blaming my situation and making them reasons for not being able to train. For example:

1. My schedule is so busy. No time to train. Damn Suay(local lingo for “unlucky”) man.
2. I hurt my shoulder. How to train? Damn Suay man.
3. I’m demoralised because I can’t lift as much as I could 5 months ago. Damn Suay man.
4. The Pit is too crowded, no space to train. Damn Suay man.
5. My slipped discs acting up. Damn Suay man.

 

Now these are just some examples that I give myself. One of my favourite excuses when PITbull Feng asks me to join her in a METCON workout is, “Sorry buddy. Menstrual cramps. Heavy flow today” LOL.

But like my “menses” excuse, the other excuses illustrated above also don’t cut it. Here are the retorts.

1. There are 24 hours in a day. You need anything between 30-90 mins a day to get your training in.
2. Here’s how: Train to rehabilitate the shoulder, and while you’re doing that, squat.
3. ??? Who’s fault is that? Shut up and lift.
4. Wake up an hour earlier, go home an hour later. And why didn’t you do it in the afternoon?
5. Rehabilitate the back. Stretch out the hamstrings, stretch out the back. Stretch out the glutes. Stretch out the IT band. And if you start feeling better, LIFT.

 

In George S. Clason’s book, The Richest Man in Babylon (This is a book about managing your finances though, not a fitness book),there is a chapter about the Goddess of Good Luck.

In it, it starts with a babylonian proverb “If a man be lucky, there is no foretelling the possible extent of his good fortune. Pitch him into the Euphrates and like as not he will swim out with a pearl in his hand.”. However, the character named Arkad, later explains to a group of men that the proverb is crap and that the Goddess of Good Luck only smiles upon those who work hard, save their money, and invest well. That she doesn’t really patronize professional gamblers, who always seem to end up poor.

“Men of action are favored by the Goddess of Good Luck”

Luck.

You don’t get stronger being lucky.

You don’t have good health being lucky.

You don’t reach your goals being lucky.

You don’t beat the competition being lucky.

Work.

Pay your dues.

Reap the rewards.

Only you benefit from it. Nobody else is in control of it.

Fuck Luck.

PS: Courtney and Brent, I miss you guys so much. We should catch up somewhere on the planet before it blows up.

Big love,

Your treehouse friend.