What Does Your 100% Look Like?

First of all, I’d like to thank all of you who donated and/or came out to the charity workout at Spurling Fitness a few weeks ago.

We raised $6,500 for the Maine Cancer Foundation, and it was the most money ever raised for a charity event at Spurling.

None of that is possible without all of you.

I'll keep you informed of my ultimate goal of bringing a smoothie bar/cart/something to the patients at Maine Med.

I also hope you’ll indulge me in a minute of gratitude – since July 26th, it’s been impossible for me to not think back to where I was a year ago and feel immense appreciation for:

1. Being alive.

2. Not being in the hospital.

3. Being able to lace up my sneakers and celebrate all that my body can still do.

This photo was taken by Sheila on the day I left the hospital – it was day 18. I didn’t know she took it until a few days ago. And the shirt I was wearing on this day was not by accident.

“Whatever your 100% looks like, give it.”

I found the shirt in the boys’ section at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store more years ago than I can remember. Well before I got into personal training, I worked as a softball coach at a small Division III college.

I remember the one thing that always impressed me about my high school softball coach was his ability to get as close to 100% of talent out of all of his players, and that was always my goal as a coach.

It still is.

Coming off the most physically challenging year of my life, that phrase has taken on a whole new meaning.

There were days when all of the energy I could muster was 10%. (Some days, because of my partially paralyzed diaphragm, that's still the case.)

I could walk to the end of my driveway and back.

Instead of comparing that to what I “used to” be able to do, I had to just accept that I was doing what I could. And to be okay with that, which is the hardest part.

If all I had was 10% and that’s what I gave, then I really was giving 100%.

At the risk of making this sound like math, I think the larger point is that we need to be fluid about what our 100% looks like. And we need to not compare what 100% looked like in our 20’s compared to now.

The internal standard some of us have about what 100% looks like often gets in the way of our progress - this is at the very heart of the all or nothing mindset.

So, whatever it is that you are setting out to do, keep in mind that all you really can do is give it 100%.

Whatever it is your 100% looks like.