Calling From the Treadmill

I was talking home the other night when I overhead the conversation of one of my neighbors, as he was talking rather loudly on his cell phone. "I'm going to the gym, I'll call you when I get on the treadmill." This struck me as rather odd. "How can you have enough breath to talk if you're actually working out on a treadmill?" I wondered. The answer of course being that you can't. This person wasn't planning to work out, they were planning to pretend to. So today I'm here to ask...Are you calling from the treadmill?

Are You Really Working?

All too often people do things just enough so that they can say they did. "I totally worked out today, I got on the treadmill," says the guy who was able to make a phone call during it. "I got a lot of work done today," says the person who just managed to look and feel busy all day while spending half their time on social media. "I helped" says the friend who just showed up and talked the whole time.

The examples are endless. But the question, the principle, is the same. Were you ACTUALLY doing what you say you were doing to the best of your focus and capability? If you "worked out" on a treadmill, you didn't have the breath to spare for a conversation during it. (which, incidentally, is just one more reason to lift instead...) If you "got a lot of work done" with three social media tabs open or your phone constantly going off, then you only got a fraction of the "a lot" of work done you could have. And no, being the "moral support" while all your other friends ACTUALLY help move doesn't count.

The point here is that if you're going to do something, actually DO it. Don't just phone it in and then talk like you did it at the same level as the person who gave it their all.

Are You Just Saying You Did It?

There are a lot of things that it sounds good to say you did or plan to do. Work out hard, invest for you future, eat better, practice your skills or develop new ones. The list goes on. My point here is that you know the difference between paying lip service to these things and actually doing them.

Just walking on the treadmill lets you say you "worked out," but you know you didn't. Throwing some spare change in a charge is technically "investing," but you know how much you spent last weekend on things you don't need. 

It's understandable. We all want to be viewed as someone who has it together, who does all the right things. But this is where your integrity comes in. Just propping up an image of the person you wish you were not only won't fool people forever, it ultimately will leave you feeling empty and false.

Avoid that trap. Better to throw yourself wholly into the things you are willing to to work and sacrifice to achieve. If you're not willing to, then you don't want to be that person badly enough and you have no business acting like or claiming that you are.

Now, I'm all for starting where you are and working towards a goal. If all you can do is get on a treadmill and walk, if you only have enough money to throw spare change in a jar, then you're giving as much as you can. Splendid. Keep doing that, and look for ways to give more, challenge yourself, and achieve greater results. But when you know you can pick up the pace, don't hide behind "at least I'm doing it." Pick up the pace and really be doing it.

When Have You Caught Yourself Calling from the Treadmill?

As always, I want to hear from you. Tell us about a time when you caught yourself phoning in your performance and changed course, and what the results were.