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The
Dawning Of A New Day!
Skip La Cour’s 2006
Success Planning Program
“What’s Stopping You?”
 I
know from my own experiences and the experiences of the people I’ve had the
pleasure to help, this message has the potential for a profound impact on the
direction and quality of your life. Be sure to read this entire article with the
anticipation that it will do so for you as well!
This message, which is centered around
one simple question, is specifically intended to get you to start thinking. I
want you to start thinking about what’s preventing you from enjoying the
quality of life you really want to experience.
All of us who are striving to improve
the quality of our physiques and lives are generally pleased with what we’ve
done up until this point in time. Although some stretches of time are better
than others, there’s no doubt in our minds that we’re committed to doing
what we must to achieve our health and fitness goals.
With that being acknowledged, what we’ve
accomplished in the past is not enough to keep us happy in the future. We know
that there is always a higher level to achieve in everything we do. We
fully understand that, if we want to stay happy and fulfilled in our
bodybuilding efforts or anything else we do in life, we must continually grow.
We must strive to build upon what we’ve done in the past and take it to the
“next level.” Once we’ve reached that next level, we must immediately set
our sights on a higher one. Continual, constant, or non-stop improvement is the
secret to bodybuilding success—and success in all aspects of life as well.
The never-quite-satisfied feeling of
angst is an emotion we must learn to effectively deal with. Angst, the uneasy
feeling inside that causes you to continually strive for a higher level, is an
emotion common among ambitious, highly motivated individuals like you and me.
But, as I’ve previously stated, the
inevitable feeling of angst is an emotion we must learn to effectively deal
with. Sometimes that angst we feel can overwhelm us, can’t it?
I’m no exception when it comes to
encountering the mental and emotional challenge I’ve described. Even with
everything I’ve accomplished in the past, I constantly battle to take my
bodybuilding endeavors and life to higher levels. Sometimes this angst inside
causes me to lose perspective, feel overwhelmed, and make the challenges I face
a lot tougher than they really are.
I have this one very good friend who
is always kind enough to let me incessantly rattle on and on about my dreams,
challenges, and why I’m “certain” I’m going to overcome them. The words
I spewed and the emotion I exuded were oftentimes delivered in an unfocused,
scatter-brained manner. I was going to achieve those dreams, identify what those
specific challenges were, and figure out a way to overcome those challenges—at
some unspecified point in the future, of course!
My uncertainty was apparent. In other
words, I was full of a lot of hot air!
Now, my friend is undoubtedly one of
my biggest supporters and believes in my abilities. She normally let’s me get
everything I have bottled up inside out without interrupting. On this particular
day, however, she stopped me dead in my tracks. Out of concern for the obvious
anxiety I was going through, she surprised me with a very simple question:
“What’s stopping
you?”
“What’s stopping me?” I
answered. “Well…well…uh…uh…nothing…I guess?”
Her question, borrowing a phrase that
my mother used to say when I was an unruly kid, “smacked upside my head”!
“What was stopping me? I asked myself. I continued to ask myself that
question over and over again during the next several days.
I’m
no exception when it comes to encountering the mental and emotional challenge
I’ve described. Even with everything I’ve accomplished in the past, I
constantly battle to take my bodybuilding endeavors and life to higher levels.
Sometimes this angst inside causes me to lose perspective, feel overwhelmed,
and make the challenges I face a lot tougher than they really are.
 The
more I thought about what was stopping me, the more I realized I couldn’t
specifically identify anything. Sure, we all are faced with challenging
situations from time to time. But hey! I’m a true fighter! I’m a real
battler! I have many, many references in my past that, when times were tough, I
found a way to come through. When I’m truly committed to accomplishing
something, very rarely will I let myself down. And, because part of my
empowering identity is to be “tenacious,” whenever I did let myself down in
the short run I found away to eventually find a way to succeed in the long term.
That’s just me. That’s just who I am. Being “tenacious” is where I live,
baby!
The more I thought about “What was
stopping me?” the more my original answer of “Well…well…uh…uh…nothing…I
guess?” became an emphatic:
“NOTHING!”
The more challenges I came up with,
the more I realized that the true answer to “What was stopping me?” was
NOTHING! My problem was that I became overwhelmed with my challenges. In my
unnoticed state of anxiety, I didn’t even take the time to identify what those
challenges actually were. How silly is that?
I realized that most of
what I thought was stopping me from actualizing my bodybuilding and
life goals were merely illusions. I was making mountains out of mole hills.
My friend’s caring question had a
very profound effect on me. I plan on making its effect long lasting by making a
habit of asking myself “What’s stopping me?” on a continual basis. Every
time I do, I know what answer I’ll come up with if I’m truly committed to
achieving success.
I realized that most of what I thought
was stopping me from actualizing my bodybuilding and life goals were merely
illusions. I was making mountains out of mole hills.
You know what? Just by the fact that
you’ve come to my web site and have read this far into this article tells me
you, too, are a true fighter. Am I right? Just like me, you’re a real battler,
aren’t you?
When times are tough, isn’t it true
that you have the ability to dig deep inside and step up to any challenge you
face? Wouldn’t you describe yourself as the kind of person who, when backed up
against a wall, will always seem to find a way to burst through any obstacle
standing in your way? When the “chips are down” and when “the rubber hits
the road” you seem to always get the job done!
The key to your success will be
demonstrating this mental and emotional tenacity sooner rather than later.
Become proactive. Don’t wait until you’re backed up against a wall, for the
chips to be down, or when the rubber hit the road! Get yourself to take action
NOW!
Asking yourself the question “What’s
stopping me?” can help you take action sooner rather than later. When you
really think about it, there are very few things that can stop a true fighter
like you! Once you’ve realized that those unspecified, intimidating, and
overblown obstacles are merely illusions created in your own mind, the real
battler that you are can emerge and kick some butt—just like you’ve done
many times in the past!
Don’t wait until
you’re backed up against a wall, for the chips to be down, or when the
rubber hit the road! Get yourself to take action NOW!
In conclusion, let me ask you the
question that I hope you’ll be asking yourself for the next week (and
hopefully even further into the future):
What’s stopping
you?
My guess is that the true
answer you’ll come up with after giving this question some thought is “Nothing!”
“Nothing—anymore,
that is!”
Train Hard—and think
BIG!
Skip La Cour
5x NPC Team Universe National Champion
Musclemania Natural Bodybuilding Champion
skiplacour@aol.com
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