Mindset
3 Quotes on Physicality that will Shape your Mindset
Being physical is much more important than we think.
The Iron and the Soul
In a 1994 article in Details Magazine, Henry Rollins unleashed what can only be described as a “firestorm of pen and ink.”
The Iron and the Soul was borne out of reinvention, his life completely reshaped by the power of the iron. His retelling of how he grew to love the pain that comes with a singular focus on getting stronger is reminiscent of what one can accomplish when doing the same thing. There is nothing else in the world like it, the primal inclination that comes with the pursuit of physicality.
Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.
The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, turning back is impossible.
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds. — Henry Rollins
The Hunger to Conquer
Very few things are more iconic than Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes. And very things should be since the Austrian native has done more with his short time in America than most can ever hope to accomplish in multiple lifetimes.
He used his passion and love for bodybuilding as a vehicle to rise to the pinnacle of business, Hollywood, and politics. He is known for comparing his pursuits in the gym to any other endeavor, noting that success is a simple matter of reps x sets: the more reps, the more success.
For me, life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer. — Arnold Schwarzenegger
Defy Comfort
David Goggins is widely considered the toughest man on the planet. His list of accolades includes ultramarathoner, Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and best-selling author, and he has been interviewed on many of the world’s top podcasts.
What most people find interesting are not his achievements but his origin story. When Goggins decided to enter the ranks of the most elite fighting force on the planet, he was 100 lbs. too heavy and only had 30 days to drop the weight. Nothing in his past would indicate that he could accomplish such a daunting feat, but he did. He completely transformed his outer life, his physical abilities, by searching within himself for a source of unlimited power, his mental abilities.
From the moment Goggins committed to making the cut as a Navy SEAL, his life would never be the same. He would relentlessly recommit to this mindset every single day.
You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential. — David Goggins
These quotes are an antidote to the lack of physicality in our society today. Regardless of what we have built around us, we are connected to our physical bodies, bounded to it, and will pay the price if we choose to ignore it.
Modern medicine has made us complacent in how we view this primal connection. We think training is optional or reserved for those times of fleeting motivation, but it is not, and it never will be.
We must adopt a different mindset about our physical selves. We must aim to protect it at all costs and cherish the opportunity to express it.
We must impose physical hardships that keep our bodies at the edge of our preconceived comfort zones. Goggins calls this process recommitting to becoming a savage.
The iron never lies, so there is no wiggle room in the realm of physicality. You do it, or you don’t. You either put the reps in, or you didn’t.
The only thing guaranteed is that your body will tell the difference. And when the time comes, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to light your soul on fire in pursuit of the physical or simply die without ever knowing your true potential?