Having an insane goal vs expecting something based on another person’s results are two different things. I for one am aiming to break the all-time Finnish deadlift record of 405,0kg regardless of how I am doing now. But I know the realities of training as well and I’m not setting that goal or to look like O’Hearn for example just because I’m being told and advertised that you can achieve that naturally.
This is my philosophy on lifting, it’s not the holy grail or absolute truth. I’m just personally sad to see how much young people are built up and told what they can achieve by doing this or doing that no matter how ridiculous those claims are.
If you have too high expectations, unrealistic ones, you may end up feeling bad about failing to meet them. It can lead to giving up, or worse.
Some people will be affected by this more than others.
I see a lot of unrealistic expectations online, in terms of how long it takes to get jacked or lose weight. “I’ve been lifting for 6 weeks and I’m not seeing the gains I want” type shit. Then they give up because they “can’t do it”.
That may be the part I don’t understand. Feeling bad about failing to meet the expectations I set out for myself is in turn a driving force to try harder for me. I couldn’t fathom that the response would be giving up, as that certainly isn’t the step to take to realize these expectations.
I would imagine the type of person you’re describing would most likely not accomplish any goals they set out for themselves, no matter how meager, based on that disposition. I may simply be lacking in experience with those types of folks.
I’ve fallen trap to this. Dealing with failure in a positive way gets easier with experience. It’s definitely a hallmark of someone who’s successful at their endeavors.
You’re right, to a point. It is a detriment. It’s not a positive trait, but it can be overcome.
One way to deal with it, is to just set smaller goals and chip away. You probably actually do this. It’s frequently recommended to do so on these very forums when new people post about having some lofty goals. A new lifter who proclaims “I want to bench 405!” would certainly be met with a response like “Focus on benching 225 first”.
As an aside, I can be extraordinarily hard on myself, particularly with my profession. It causes a good deal of stress that can effect other areas of my life when I don’t meet my own high expectations. But I also suffer depression. I deal with it. Being self aware is pretty important. But this is going on a bit of a tangent …
To an extent. I’ve learned to celebrate the small victories along the way, but I never really tend to focus on them, and I find myself disagreeing with the sentiment when it’s expressed. I still want to deadlift 800lbs. I’m rehabbing a blown ACL, I’m 30, I’m only 190lbs, and it’s still what I want to do. I have to successfully rehab, and get back to my old numbers, and then pull 700 and 750 to get there, but my focus is on that 800.
I think your statement on self-awareness is incredibly on point though. Knowing how one responds to this type of stimuli/motivation is valuable.
I can’t really explain why the number 800 is so significant to me, but for some reason it’s just the number my brain associates with “inhuman strength”. No real rational or logical reason at play there.
