A trend has emerged with people contacting me, and I would like to cut this one off as early as possible.
The marker is typically started with something like this “…I recently implemented the Gym Movement Protocol and I have been making the best progress of my life ect, ect, ect MY ONLY REGRET IS I DIDNT KNOW THIS 20 YEARS AGO etc etc.”
Indeed, how exciting it is to ponder where you would be now had your first venture into fitness been Gym Movement. What IF two decades were marked with PR everyday?
But this does not serve you. The protocol did not exist than. The stage was not set. Everything is happening at the pace which is it supposed to happen. This leaves you only with regret if you continue to explore this thought from that angle.
Regret does not serve us in any case I can think of other than to allow us better decisions in the future.
Regret costs much, but pays little.
Regret demands guilt in some level, and typically shame in some capacity.
These things do not make you better. In fact, I believe guilt and shame make you worse.
So I leave you with this, instead of wondering where you would be IF something had happened differently in your past, work now to shape your present and your future.
Naturally, do whatever you want to do…but no more emails to me telling me of regrets, I will simply direct you back to this very post.
More forward, and evolve now.
By the way, Do you know what happen IF worms had machine guns? The birds wouldn’t fuck with them any more…
ATG
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Shame, guilt, regret and embarrassment help you to modify future behavior….
they are not meant to fixate you on past behavior.
Carpe diem!
Amen! This is a GREAT post by Adam
Adam you are progressing on every level! Beautiful!!!
-ck
Thanks Craig
It rained last night and as I was driving to work I declared myself “Boris The Worm Slayer”. Seriously. I felt bad for the worms though.
Agreed: I can hardly see any positive effect of regret at all, at all.
But perhaps by “my only regret is that I didn’t know about this 20 years ago” can help us think about what we can do in 20 years. Gym Movement has become my first major foray into fitness, and I’d love to find out what happens after 2 decades of daily improvement. I’ll tell you about it in February, 2030.
You are going to a bad mother fucker Brad Johnson, that is what is going to happen
Nice work Adam!
I can’t say I would regret all the other training and the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars I’ve spent on education before Gym Movement since it lead me to others to make it happen NOW and in the future. Money well spent.
Worms with machine guns made me laugh too—very funny visual!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
Everything I am is a result of all of the experiences of my life. Because of that I regret. nothing.
My answer to the “I wish I knew this X years ago” is do you really think you would have listened?
Great point Gary!
-ck
I’m with Mike T. on this one. I don’t regret the hours of dedication spent in the garage before Gym Movement. They were not the best hours I could have spent, and the certifications I have didn’t really make me any money. But if it weren’t for one of them, the RKC that is, I don’t know if I would have found Brad, or you Adam, or Mike T. Nelson. I definitely don’t regret that!
Thanks
That is a productive way to view the past- What did we get from the experiences we went through. Every thing that happens to us can serve some purpose to guide future decisions
Wow, that picture made me laugh so hard. My day is better for coming here. Thank you.
Just be glad you know it now and not twenty years from now. You’ll always learn new things you wish you knew before. Such is life.
outstanding post adam really like
Full body awareness living in the present you only look back at regret so you do not make the same mistakes. i liken gym movement to the natural flow of life. Take farming if you do not harvest the crop in the spring you will yield no results in the fall you cannot cram the natural process things need to be done along the way to ensure optimal results or the best harvest. i see no difference with my body if i do not follow it or test it somewhere along the way i will break it , and for me that is not an option regrets only slow me down no time for that i looking for progress anywhere great job ATG thanks for all your help
A very relevant topic, Adam!
I remember how I had the second biggest crush on a girl ever when I was in gymnasium and didn’t do anything about it. I chickened out everytime I had a chance to talk with her (which was every single day). Boy, did I regret it! But I’ve grown a pair after those times already.
What about physical training? I used to regret that I was such a lazy fat ass as a kid, even if it was my parents responsibility back then. It’s very addictive to wallow in regret and self-pity, I dare say!
As others have stated, I’m of the camp that you learn from past experiences and failures, but avoid “becoming” them. It’s too easy to fall into self created bullshit, and the funniest part is that I see about 90% of the bullshit in my life can be attributed, or was assisted by my own nonsense. Learn, adapt and evolve, no room for any negativity.