It could be anything. It was a simple phone call. “What are you guys doing in an hour?” asked Jeremy Jackson, former Baywatch Star and Body by Vi Promoter.

We responded, “Why?”

“Just meet me at this gym,” I’ll tell you more when you get here.

I’ve always believed that it’s typically our own mental blocks that stop us from achieving our goals. We think because we haven’t done something before that we should ease into it. We think we should study it first. We think we should wait a few weeks or months to roll it around in our minds.

“Let’s go,” I said. “How much of a surprise can it be? I’ve been to plenty of gyms.”

Oops. This, I didn’t expect.

Facing The Unexpected

We end up at a mixed martial arts studio, Beverly Hills Jiu Jitsu Fitness MMA. Jeremy introduced me to the owner and then he sticks a metal in my hand. “You want one of these Blake?”

Here’s my response, “…”

Jeremy continued, “We’re competing in a tournament in 90 Days. You’re already signed up.”

What?

“I don’t even know what Jiu Jitsu is. But, okay.” How do I say no to “already signed up.”

I have never done Jiu Jitsu in my entire life. (Except for one time, which you’ll see in the video.) But with a tournament looming just 90 days out, I had an incentive to get to work. The date was hanging over my head. And, I basically had to commit to the training, or I knew I would really get beat up badly.

The Truth About Challenge

The same is true with any challenge. Here’s what I know about challenge. 

Challenge gives you a reason. If you want to run a marathon, sign up for your race before your first day of the challenge. Don’t learn to run 26.2 miles before you choose your race. Events hold us accountable to focus our attention and not get side-tracked.

Challenge gets you tangled in whatever you’re going to do. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll learn and by how much you’ll enjoy the process.

Challenge inspires change. The process of a 90-day challenge keeps you locked in to a final day. It’s something to word towards. And though each day of the challenge will introduce new and difficult challenges of its own, you learn to work through it. Working hard, going all out inspires you to make the change you desire but so often fail to seize.

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