"Don't you think 400 push-ups a day is excessive?"
This was the question posed to me by the shoulder specialist examining my injured shoulder. He had just entered the room and was going through what I'm sure are his usual questions.
"What brings you here today?" "Where does it hurt?" When did it start hurting?" "Were you doing anything when the pain started?"
As I went through my answers of "shoulder pain, right shoulder, 3 months", his eyes widened when I answered that last question.
"I started noticing the pain after my routine of 400 push-ups with either 40 pull-ups or 40 dips a day."
"400 push-ups a day?" he asked. "Yes, 4 sets of 100" was my reply.
That's when he said it. "Don't you think 400 push-ups a day is excessive?"
"No, no I don't" was my simple, but honest reply.
Because you only get so much time with a doctor, I didn't bother explaining the background of the 400 push-ups. I started with a goal of 100 push-ups a day, 4 sets of 25. Once that became fairly easy, I set a new goal of 200 a day with 4 sets of 50. Once that became easy, I said, "why stop there?".
The next goal was 300 and eventually it became possible to knock out 400 push-ups a day. 100 here, 100 there, 100 at the house, 100 at the office, well you get the picture.
Not wanting to settle for hitting that goal, I decided to throw in some pull-ups and dips to see what levels I could make. Unfortunately, a couple weeks into the additional routine, the pain started.
I won't go into the whole story of the shoulder injury and 6 month recovery as that's not the point of this story. The point is that the doctor was so surprised that I actually wanted to push myself to hit what most would think to be outrageous or unachievable goals.
Basically I felt he was saying why push the limits when you can settle for mediocrity?
Have we really hit the point in society with participation awards that we feel mediocrity is what we should strive for? Sure I could've stopped at the 100 goal or 200 goal, but where's the fun in that?
I saw an awesome post this week from Sherri, an ImpactClub® Wilmington member. Sherri just retired from professional bodybuilding competitions. She was asked now that she's not competing, would she go to a "normal" lifestyle. Her response was perfect.
"What exactly is Normal? This is the Lifestyle I lead, not a season. I never strive to be "Average"."
Loved that response. Well said Sherri, well said.
Pushing yourself, not settling, striving for excellence. These sound way more appealing than mediocrity accompanied by a participation award.
That goes for all areas of my life. Striving to be the best husband, father, Christian, servant, community leader, business leader, and real estate agent I can be. There are times when I fail in all of these areas.
The key is to keep going, keep pushing, keep striving to be a better version of who I am.
I tell our kids all the time, we're all going to get knocked down at some point. Your character shows when you either decide to stay down or get back up and fight.
I was told yesterday there are 3200 real estate agents in our area. All of them can put a listing in the MLS and stick a sign in the yard and a lot stop right there. If I settled for mediocrity and the accepted norm, I could stop there too.
The majority of those 3200 will only sell 1-2 houses a year. So if you get into real estate and sell 2 houses a year, congratulations, you're in the top 50%.
Should I settle for providing the minimum level of service? Should I settle for minimum goals? NO and NO would be my answers to those questions.
Striving for excellence, striving for superior service. striving to constantly improve what I have to offer and can do for my clients has led to a business based entirely on relationships and referrals.
Pushing myself to provide superior service to achieve superior results for my clients made it possible for me to see Christen post this week:
"I have the absolute best realtor on the planet! Thank you so much Chris Spivey, it was an awesome experience working with you in 2017 and if anyone is in the market for a realtor, he is bar none the best, hands down!"
Thanks Christen. Christen has an incredible story which I've shared before. I'm honored to have played a small part in her amazing accomplishments.
With that being said, do I fail sometimes? Yes.
Do I have setbacks sometimes? Yes.
Do I have successes? Yes.
Do I feel like I'm making a difference? Yes.
But whether it's successes or failures, I keep pushing forward. Never settling. Always striving for excellence.
After 6 months of shoulder recovery with no push-ups or any upper body exercises, I just got the all clear from the doctor to start exercising again.
I started with 5 push-ups. Might not sound like a lot, but yesterday it was 0. Next week it might be 10. Will it be 400 again? Probably not, only because that's no longer my goal.
What is the next physical goal? My first Spartan Race. Who's in?
Whatever level you're trying to achieve in any area of your life, be the best you can be. Push yourself, because excellence is just ahead.
By the way, it was probably the dips that got me, not the push-ups.
As always, I hope this helps in some way.
Chris
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