DOING VS BEING

My most recent post of “If It Feels Good, Stop” inspired a lot of conversation and, in it, I found an interesting element of “strong” being discussed there: specifically the nature of being strong vs doing strong things.  Despite how often I explain it, many people still struggle to understand why I’ve lifted for so long if I hate it, and they go through all the normal (and incorrect) assumptions that I must be a masochist, that I’m exaggerating or flat out lying, that I just haven’t found the exercise that I like, or that I’m somehow super-duper disciplined.  The truth remains much simpler: I like BEING big and strong, and lifting weights is something I have to DO in order to BE strong.  But in turn, one must understand that these ARE two separate concepts: a concept of being and a concept of doing.  One must be able to make the clear and distinct separation between the two concepts in order to fully realize just WHAT, exactly, it is that is their goal in training.

That sums it up pretty nicely

This fundamentally requires one to accept the reality that one can exist independent of the actions they perform, and that their actions do not define “them”.  The notion of action defining a person is very western, and can trace its origins to the ancient Greeks, with impact being felt today.  Think about whenever someone asks you to tell them about yourself: you most likely start with what you do for a profession (or, absent a profession, where you are currently a student at).  You define “you” based off the things you do (and typically, off the things you do to earn money FIRST, followed by the things you do for leisure second, which is more western influence).  However, our more eastern inclined brethren may be tempted to instead answer with who their family is (I am so-and-so’s child, and they come from X).  And think really about the answer to those questions: one is very much about what one DOES, while the other, truly, is about what someone IS. 

That said, I now have need to address one of my previous posts to “Internet Powerlifters”, wherein I made the claim that, if one does not powerlift, one is not a powerlifter.  Does that contradict what we’re discussing today?  No, because “powerlifter” is NOT a state of being: it’s a classification of one who acts.  Being strong is HELPFUL for bring a powerlifter, but not at all necessary (because we have not specified “good/successful powerlifter” here: simply powerlifter).  Hence, in telling someone “you are not a powerlifter” because they do not powerlift, we are not denying that they are strong, we are not denying that they dedicate their training to improving their squat, bench and deadlift, we are not denying that they do lots of work in low rep ranges: we are simply saying that they have not done the action necessary for one to be a specific thing.

It's not about how much you lift or how you train: it's about actually getting on the platform

Which, in turn, brings us all the way around to BEING big and strong.  It is true that one must do the things that big and strong people DO in order to BE the thing that big and strong people are (in much the same way one must powerlift to be a powerlifter), but what is ALSO true is that one is BEING big and strong even when one is not DOING the things necessary to become big and strong.  One is not big and strong ONLY when one is exercising, but, in fact, they are that way during all hours.  Big especially so, as that remains persistent insomuch as one eats to support it, but strong one would argue even moreso OUTSIDE of training, as training tends to tax one’s available strength and reduce their ability to be as strong as possible in that exact moment in time.  One actually tends to be stronger OUTSIDE of the activities of becoming stronger vs when they are doing the very things that are required to become big and strong.  In understanding this, it becomes apparent that the act of becoming big and strong is distinctly separated from BEING big and strong, and the two can exist as independent concepts despite a codependent relationship.

And I love BEING big and strong, so much so that I’m willing to DO the things that make me big and strong even if I hate them.  Primarily because the trade-off is borderline ridiculous.  I only have to “suffer” for 60-90 minutes 4-5 times a week in order to spend the REST of that day loving what I am.  Think of how many people have that completely backwards.  Think of how many people absolutely resent what they ARE, so they turn to DO something to try to feel better for only an incredibly fleeting moment.  They indulge in yummy food, or alcohol and drugs, or self-gratification, or just ANYTHING to attempt to take their minds off of just how miserable they ARE.  They mistakenly believe that, by DOING, they can alleviate the pain of what they are BEING, but, in truth, what they are being IS so miserable BECAUSE they refuse to dedicate 60-90 minutes a few times a week toward some manner of self-improvement.  And yet again: that doesn’t have to be lifting.  For me it is, because BEING big and strong is what I love being, but it could just as easily be about being smarter, an accomplished chef, more spiritual, more assertive, etc etc.  That time spent doing that will be unenjoyable, no doubt, but it pays a ridiculous exponential interest, wherein, what little time is invested in suffering results in near constant and persistent joy: the joy of BEING.

See Steve gets it

To take this rant even further, one inevitably begs the question “but how can one BE strong without the demonstration of said strength, at which point one strains, experiences discomfort, and therefore does not experience joy?”  The fact of the matter is that strong IS a state of being that exists independent of the demonstration of it.  As someone that is strong, being strong is possessing an immense amount of physical confidence, sometimes to the point of tragedy.  There is RARELY an instance wherein I encounter something where brute force is the solution and I am unable to supply it, and many times instances where one does not even CONSIDER brute force as a solution to a problem yet I am able to “solve” it employing that manner.  I am never limited due to a lack of strength, and though I may experience discomfort in the employment of said strength, I experience joy in the knowing that I had the strength to employ.  I’ve moved my house multiple times over the year and never had to hire a moving company to assist me.  This included putting a reverse hyper on my back and walking it up the ramp of a moving truck, ducking under my garage door on the way up and essentially doing inclined lunges until I could get clearance.  It was one of the most physically miserable experiences of my life, but BEING strong enough that I could do it was absolutely satisfying.  I love being strong enough to know that the only thing that will ever stop me from carrying my kid is when THEY’RE no longer comfortable with it.  I love that when something says “team lift” on it, I know that it doesn’t apply to me. 

Being big and strong is, quite simply, awesome, and it’s awesome enough that it’s completely worth doing all the things necessary in order to be that way.