Just Try Harder.

Several years ago my friend Roger Fage spoke three words to me that changed a huge part of my life.

“Just Try Harder.”

I had met Roger in Halifax around 2010 and then during a random climbing trip to Kamourska, Quebec our paths crossed again.

We spoke of all the things and none of the things, but the one thing that stuck with me was this particularly conversation.

He told me for a long time he was stuck. He was unable to progress in his climbing and seemed to feel like he had plateaued. Then one day, one of his friends told him the secret to success. “Just try harder.” And from then on he was surpassing his current climbing ability.

I don’t know what it was about this moment because I’ve heard those words so many times before. However, perhaps was just the right time, the right place and the look on his face as he turned away from me and stared at the climb above us.

Just. Try. Harder.

Ever since then it has been one of my top 5 mantras in achieving things. Whenever I feel stuck in something and feel as though I have plateaued in my own ability and skill, I take a moment to reassess what I am doing wrong.

I look at the factors and the variables and I start making excuses.

Then. I catch myself and it dawns of me. The words of an amazing, even keeled human…

Just try harder.

Then I take a deep breath and do you know what I do next ? I try harder.

Since my recent ACL tear, I have felt like I have fallen backwards in so many aspects of my life. My strength, my flexibility, my will power.

Prior to my injury I was just barely maintaining my fitness and then suddenly, goals that were already barely within arms reach had become insurmountable. I look at my before photos and now I’ve gained weight, gotten soft, lost endurance.

I stopped writing blog posts. I stopped stretching. I stopped trying.

I stopped trying.

This is the moment I assess all the factors and variables again. Cloud my mind with why I can’t and why I won’t. Fill my heart with excuses. This is also the moment that I stop doing that and get my soul together and once again realize the answer to all my recent setbacks is to,