Here’s one of the most important mindsets for becoming unstoppable and reaching higher levels of fitness
Recently I’ve been on a Wayne Gretzky kick- if you aren’t familiar, he rewrote the record books in hockey for scoring the most goals in a season (92)… most assists in a season (163)… most goals in a career (1,072) and many more.
To this day, many of these have never been broken.
In his book, Gretzky he shares the difference between a high scorer vs a low scorer in hockey and how they perceive the goalie differently.
If you ask a fifty-goal scorer what the goalie looks like, he’ll say the goalie’s just a blur. But if you ask a five-goal scorer, he’ll say the goalie looks like a huge glob of pads. A five-goal scorer can tell you the brand name of the pad of every goalie in the league. I’m seeing the net, he’s seeing the pad. - Wayne Gretzky
I’ve come across many athletes (in spirit, not necessarily in sport) over the years who have a similar mentality of “seeing the net” instead of the pad.
They see the opportunities each day for moving more whether it’s parking a little bit further away while shopping… going for a walk with friends… … doing a set of squats while they are waiting for the water to boil… or taking up a sport (not just to move more but for the feeling of mastery).
Moving more not because they “have to” or they “should” but because they can and they get to. They recognize that precious power and they choose to expand it instead of let it shrink.
They see each day with more opportunities vs. the people who see the ‘pad’. These people see what’s in the way of them eating better or moving a little bit more. And the more they do that the bigger the “glob of pads” looks that’s guarding them from their goals.
So how do you break the habit?
A slight shift in focus is all it takes — and the interesting thing is the more you look for opportunities, the more you find them. And the more you find them the more you seize them.
(And over time, you build a habit of it.)
For instance, grocery stores are beginning to hold healthier products and ingredients. The more you look for them the more you will find them. The opportunities for creating healthy, delicious recipes is becoming way easier (if you’re willing to seize them).
Beyond that I challenge you to find the other opportunities in your day to move more and eat better. And “see the net” not the “pad.”
Kelan Ern Fitness Coach
P.S. To uncover more opportunities for how to take your health and fitness to the next level check out my monthly 'coaching session' here.