Be That Guy
August 5th, 2008
In a the recent Olympic Preview issue of Sports Illustrated, and interviewer asked Michael Phelps if he could recommend any exercises that would help build a swimmer’s body. Phelps replied – I’d imaging with just a hit of irony in his voice – “Um, swimming.” (paraphrased)
The simplicity of this statement brought me back to some advice I received many years ago. I was trying to improve my martial arts skills and aiming directly for my black belt, but I’d hit a wall. My instructor at the time simply said “You know that guy you see at all the competitions? The one who can’t seem to lose and is constantly ranked? Be that guy.”
This was pretty profound. He didn’t mean flip a switch and magically become this other person. What he meant was that if I wanted to be a better martial artist, I needed to behave like a better martial artist. I needed to fall in love with the sport more, read more literature, practice more, and in pretty much eat and breath it. That’s how that guy did it. If I wanted to be like him, I had to become him.
Though you could apply this principle to just about any type of goal (becoming a civil war buff, getting skills in the kitchen, having a George Hamilton tan…), I like to think of it in regards to my own physical, spiritual, and mental character. If I want to be more fit, I need to start behaving like a fit person. If I want to improve my spiritual life, I need to start behaving like a spiritually healthy person. If I want to improve my mental capacity, I need to start behaving like smarter people behave.
I’m in no way suggestion that we should pretend we’re healthier, smarter, or more spiritual than we actually are. I’m a big fan of authenticity, even though I struggle to be more authentic each day and have never quite perfected it. This isn’t about some hokey self-affirmation practice of tricking myself into being smarter or healthier just by speaking the words or thinking positive thoughts. Instead, think of it like Michael Phelps. How do you think he became the best swimmer in the world? He swam. All the time. He still swims. The Olympics start in a couple of days and he may have just landed in China, but I bet he’s thinking about swimming right now this very moment. Michael Phelps had a life goal to be the best swimmer in the world, so he simply set out to be that guy.
How do healthy people behave? Maybe they eat better things. Maybe they run. If I want to be a healthy person, I need to emulate that behavior. In this case, being goal oriented may not help me. In other words, I shouldn’t think of being a healthier person as an end, but rather who I am. In this way, I don’t “diet” and my exercise program doesn’t really have a time frame. It’s just a part of who I am.
Simply put, I’d encourage any of you who would like to change something about yourself, even just a little, or if you have a goal that you’d like to accomplish, analyze the average person who already is how you want to be or has already accomplished that goal…and then be that person.
To add onto this, I’d also like to state another quote that I find inspiring. “If you want to be what you’ve never been, you have to be willing to do what you’ve never done.” (if anyone can help me attribute that, I’d be very appreciative) You are capable of doing/being much more than you think. You just gotta be willing to be that guy.
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