Stairs - INXS

10 Shades of Grey

'Take one step, out the door'...

Martin Luther King, Jr. said 'Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase' - it’s a wonderful quote. One I often hear is ‘taking the first step is the hardest’ - no wonder Neil Armstrong called his, 'A giant leap for mankind'. 

I love a good quote and faith plays a great part in anything we do, as does commitment which I believe we can measure – I do this with my ‘Ten Levels of Commitment’.

Look around, for a whole lot more…

Let’s face it, more and more of us are out there looking around for the magical life-ingredient that will make our life simply perfect for ourselves and those around us. Our modern, ‘Trip-Adviser-World’ rates everything from a Holiday to a Toaster as a rating out of 10 so I’ve made my levels match with a reasoning to why I believe folk fail or succeed in their approach towards their goal.

We make decisions all day, every day. A simple series of ‘zeroes and ones’. We get an idea. Become obsessed and set off to varying degrees of success – So why is this?

0 – ‘Over my Dead Body’…

Hmm, no wonder it’s a BIG fat ZERO. To me it means there is no way on God’s Earth you could ever make or even encourage me to do something. Triathlons, eating Tuna and listening Barry Manilow immediately come to my mind but then as you know, I’m an all or nothing kinda guy and the ‘Zero’ for ‘Over my Dead Body’ reflects the whitest, snow-white, white you could ever imagine. On my shades of GREY – 0 is my WHITE (Grey being a mix of Black and White. White being 100% White 0% Black and Black vice versa if you get my drift).

1 – ‘I just can’t see myself doing that’…

Well if you can’t – no one else will. Having a clear picture of yourself undertaking a feat or crossing the finish line of a race is sometimes all the belief you’ll ever need to achieve the success you desire. But let’s face it, if you don’t believe you have what it takes, it’s very hard for anyone to ‘Project’ that feeling onto you. It’s nearly always only a marginal success that’s achieved when it happens and using a ‘Neil Armstrong’ analogy, he’d never have set off for the moon, let alone walked on it.

2 – ‘There’s nothing you could do to make me do that’…

Now to me that means that you could do whatever is tasked of you, but you simply don’t want to do it. It’s more of a kind of protest statement. And whenever I’ve heard it said, I’ve shut up shop and lowered my expectations of the 2/10 situation as let’s face it, making that kind of mindset remotely positive is extremely unlikely and will never reach the ‘Level of Commitment’ needed to achieve the success I’d be looking for.

3 – ‘My Partner, Husband/Wife doesn’t want me doing that’…

Now, that always sounds like an excuse to me or a case of avoiding a difficult conversation with the other half. In levels 9 & 10 this wouldn’t be an option but ‘Giving in’, is a simple way of undermining your own self-confidence by not wanting to ‘Rock-the-Boat’ and leads to frustration and a feeling of ‘Minority Mediocrity’. I believe everyone has a desire, even a need to achieve. Making a mark on the world and a leaving a personal legacy has always been something that I’ve had foremost in my mind and I now see this in a lot of the folk I meet and coach.

4 – Really?

That’s the answer I get a lot when I’m looking at people’s fitness stats and ability. An ‘Ability Disbelief’ we’ll call it. A simple case of someone not knowing what they are capable of. I love the Malcom Gladwell principle that says 10,000 hours of ‘deliberate practice’ are needed to become world-class in any field. When psychologists talk about deliberate practice, they mean practicing in a way that pushes your skill set as much as possible. I mean, are people that are superb musicians or artists, the best naturally or have they simple done the time? It’s an interesting and well-argued concept but it does highlight that we tend to concentrate on things we like or enjoy to become our obsession or lifestyle. I’m sure there are plenty more capable musicians, artists and athletes in this world - it’s just that these attributes have never been discovered perhaps. Really? Yes, Really.

5 – Maybe? Maybe Not…

50:50 is never a safe bet is it? A simple coin-toss. Heads or Tails? I’m never convinced folk have got what it takes when I hear such an ambivalent comment, it’s almost a double-negative in my book. A ‘Mid-Tone Grey’, dreary shade suggesting a state of complete indecisiveness of true commitment. It marks the point I find most frustrating in folk but maybe most folk also find it just as annoying in themselves – you be the judge.

6 – I’m on it…

Or are you? Okay we’ve reached that 60% ‘Level of Commitment’ but it’s still a long way from anything being signed, sealed and delivered. The ‘I’m on it’ comment speaks volumes to me. It usually means that the intention is there but the enthusiasm is lacking – along with any action on making it happen. I believe ‘I’m on it’ doesn’t mean happening in the present – it’s more of a future tense happening. A kind of ‘thanks for reminding me as I know I haven’t done anything about it yet’. I remember some School Summer Holiday homework having the ‘I’m on it’ appeal – don’t you?

7 – I’m giving it everything I’ve got…

Only you’re not. Even though you are attaining what I would call a high ‘Pass Mark’. And yes, your degree might say ‘First Class Honours’, it’s still a long way from being truly exceptional. I don’t think anyone would be happy buying a 7/10 rated TV or HiFi when there are 8, 9 or even 10/10 performers to choose from. I’d say 7/10 is ‘Good’ but not ‘Good Enough’ if you look at a 70% Grey – it’s still VERY Grey and not very Black. That says it all to me.

8 – There’s not a lot more I can do…

If there isn’t, well maybe you’ve misjudged your Level 10. I’m not sure anything is ever perfect and even when I thought I’d given things everything I’d ever got, there was always a niggling thought that I could have done more. Anyone that has ever done a VO2 Max test on a Treadmill, where it goes quicker and quicker and the gradient increases will have had the thought that they could have done a few more steps before hitting the emergency stop button. It tells me that there’s always something more you can do to get the most out of your inner-self.

9 – Nothing can stop me…

I love it! Nothing will stop you, if you’ve gone the extra mile – given it everything you’ve got and been ‘on it’ right from the start. 9/10 is pretty dark – a dark charcoal grey – a near black and for some it’s the ceiling of their ability and an extremely satisfying position to find yourself in. If you’re a gambler – it’s a ‘Dead Cert’ – a winning Lottery ticket. For those that follow one of my 12-Week Training Plans or ULTRAdiet, well you are going to succeed as it’s ‘Green Lights’ all the way. Nothing will stop you when you hit the ‘Nothing can stop me’ phase.

 10 – Whatever the Cost…

How Black is your Black? Just how dark can you make it? Is your Eclipse Full or only partial? As a young boy (Aged 7) I knew I’d see the Solar Eclipse at Land’s End in 1999 (Aged 37) – ‘Whatever the Cost’, and I did. It was Black too (but sadly cloudy boo-hoo) but I lived out a 30 year dream. A pledge made as a boy that if I was still alive when I was an old man, I kept. A most satisfying moment in my lifetime along with many, many more situations and achievements that have come my way.

They haven’t come from being anything less than an eight perhaps and I can think of many things that have had to suffer so that the ‘Nines and Tens’ have happened. Sure there are things I’ve given my all to and they’ve failed but I’m honest enough to own up to my own failings and ‘Levels of Commitment’. Maybe they weren’t all as high as I’d thought.

For you, take some time to see how you measure up and maybe reaffirm your ‘Level of Commitment’ to whatever is driving you on to succeed right now.

Are you a 5, 8, 9 or even 10 – I’d love to know?

1,024 Marathons - 248 Ultras - 15 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records