Establishing a Mental Contract

In my line of work, with frequent travel and interacting with people all over the world, many people wonder how anyone could travel 80 percent of the time and stay in shape. Finding the time to consistently exercise is one of the most difficult challenges in one's life. It is hard enough maintaining a daily exercise routine even when you are not always on the go. Now imagine traveling often, with different time zones playing havoc with your internal body clock, customer dinners, parties and so on. On top of all that, finding a health club to exercise is a real experience, especially in certain countries.

Day in and day out, I would get up and exercise in the morning no matter where I was, no matter what I did the night before, and regardless of what time I went to sleep. This was crazy! Hey, I will be the first to agree. People who know me and see me partying with them the night before could not believe that I would get up to exercise after only 2-3 hours sleep.

It is that damned contract called Discipline. It never goes away; it never allows me to become complacent. It has taken over my life. Even if I am exhausted, the contract subconsciously reminds me to keep pushing. I did not own or control this contract - on the contrary, it controlled me. Even if I wanted to sleep in one morning, it would not let me. It had the upper hand at all times. It was like being addicted to drugs, but the drug was that contract I had with myself. The Contract consisted of setting rules and guidelines, being your own cop, focusing on your priorities and milestones, living life with a sense of urgency mentality and maintaining personal and professional values

Story: Bangkok

I had to speak in front of a very large audience at 9:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning in Bangkok. I flew in from San Francisco, arriving at 11:00 p.m., Wednesday evening. When I arrived at the hotel room around 12:30AM, I could not sleep, so I decided to go out on the town. By the time I returned it was 3:00 a.m. The time difference between San Francisco and Bangkok is 14 hours. The health club opened at 6:00 a.m., and I was there for my workout. As you can imagine, I was tired, but I managed to push myself through it all.

I survived the ordeal and actually felt pretty good during my talk that next morning. About a month later, I received pictures that were taken at the event; my face looked like I had not slept for a week!

It would have been easier to do as anyone else would and sleep (or, in my case, just relax and forget the exercise) until 8:00 a.m., have several cups of coffee, and give my speech. However, that contract would not let up, not even for one day. I had a very good excuse: traveling for sixteen hours. Why not give the body a break?

One could argue that this is overdoing it. You could get sick. Yet, I have been over doing it for over a quarter century. Always pushing my body to the max. I was in my thirties, already disciplined, and felt like nothing could stop me. I was beaming with confidence. I felt invincible. The contract is something that you love to hate.

Overcoming Emotional Barriers

My first real emotional experience was at the tender age of 18. One day the realization hit: it was over. A yearlong relationship came to an abrupt halt. I went into a big shell for about 24 hours, not eating, not sleeping, not getting out of bed, not exercising, nothing! I just wanted to give up.

Then that contract kicked me in the butt. I started to think about my priorities. Did I really want to waste precious cycles? I struggled to get out of bed. I was so weak. I ate something, started to really focus in on my life, and then I was alive again. I said to myself that no one is worth throwing away all this hard work. Don't get me wrong; I have feelings just like anyone else. I was still wounded and bleeding from the heart.

However, my contract gave me the ability to get things rolling again. If I didn't have that contract, I would have probably remained in that bed, moping and feeling sorry for myself for the next week. Thank goodness, there was something else to think about. My friendly little contract would not have it any other way.