Lance Armstrong is one of the most famous cancer surviving professional athletes in the world. He has won the Tour de France seven times in a row and has beaten brain, testicular and lung cancer. He is tough. He is not a quitter.
Surely there is something we can learn from Lance.
Lance Armstrong’s Wisdom in Dodgeball
I was watching the movie “Dodgeball” recently when I noticed a scene with Lance in it. The scene is typically hilarious and Lance does a great job at guilt tripping Vince Vaughn into not quitting the team. You have to see the clip to appreciate its significance so here it is below.
Take particular notice of the last line where Lance says:
“I’m sure this decision won’t haunt you forever…”
At first I found this funny as hell and had a really good laugh. However, after a few moments I realized that what Lance was talking about was actually really important for athletes and non-athletes alike. How often do we quit something because we are scared? How often do we quit something because it seems too hard? How often do we quit something because we are weak?
I’m betting quite often.
How often do you quit?
Now it is time to start taking a look inwards. How many times have you quit something because it seemed to hard or too scary? It could be a new sport team that you wanted to try out for or a new class that you were too scared to walk in to. Perhaps you have been stuck on a fitness plateua for a long time and you are too scared to push yourself through it. Be honest with yourself and see whether you have ever quit something because it seemed too hard.
If you have found a few instances in your past where you have quit something then you need to acknowledge those events and let them go. Don’t beat yourself up. Everyone quits once in a while.
The important thing is that you learn from it.
If you can look back at the times you quit and make a firm aspiration never to quit again then the quitting was worth it. If you can learn from it and never do it again then it will not “… haunt you for the rest of your life…” as Lance so humorously points out to Vince.
What we can learn from Lance Armstrong about not quitting
When I read about Lance there is one thing I always notice. He is positive. He doesn’t get down in the dumps about his fight with cancer. He doesn’t worry about it coming back. He just lives his life surrounded by positive thinking.
In fact, when asked about his experience with cancer Lance said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He turned a seemingly negative event into something extremely positive and then he used it as motivation to get back on the bike and win seven Tour de Frances in a row.
The important lesson here is turning a negative into a positive. If you have quit in the past you need to promise never to do it again. Or, if you come up against a situation where you feel like quitting in the future you need to look inside yourself and say “Well this might be tough but I’m not going to quit. I will be a better person if I try.” You can apply this to fitness, weight lifting, sport, marriage, life… anything.
Don’t be afraid of failing. Don’t be afriad of pain. The pain of regret is much worse.
More inspiration from Lance
Lance Armstrong has written a few books that everyone should read. I picked up a copy when my mate was in hospital with cancer but the wisdom, truth and inspiration of his story will benefit anyone who reads it. You can get them really cheap on Amazon here.
Share your quitting stories
All of you loyal Real Muscle Online readers out there it is time to leave a comment and share your stories about times you have quit and whether you learned from it or not. Don’t be afraid to be open and honest.
January 20th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Great post! My wife and I talk about this idea alot. ALOT. There are so many things you cannot control in your life situation. But, you CAN control your intensity and your effort. I like this “mind training” style post, RT. Because, the tougher you are mentally, the better athlete you are going to be. Your mind determines everything. And, every time you “quit” you are creating that habit. Increasing the chances of it happening again and again. Once your mind thinks it can get away with it, it will. But, on the flip-side the tougher you are mentally, there is really nothing that can stand in your way. If you do not run from fear, do not run from hard work, or a little bit of uncomfortability/pain, what can stop you from pushing through to your goals?
January 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Reiki I agree with you 100%.
You actually brought up something I wanted to mention in the article - the “habit” of quitting. Like you say, once you quit once you will do it again and again.
As for my experience of quitting I would have to say my biggest quitting story is probably the one that happens on a daily basis when I try to get up early. I just can’t do it anymore because I “quit” the habit of early rising so many months ago. I still haven’t learned from that.
Thanks for the comment.
RT
January 20th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
quitting smoking would be the biggest quitting thing i learned from. because i failed so many times, before i was successful. i think i really strongly felt the loss of energy and motivation, aswell as the lowered view of my own ability (to achieve goals) and mental toughness every time i quit the quitting! in the end it was just one day after another, until i had enough days behind me for it to be permanent.
January 20th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Smoking is defo a tough one. I am trying (sort of) to do the same thing with coffee at the moment. Completely failing of course!
RT