Sometimes Success Means Adding Weight

A friend of mine recently bought a weighted vest.

She's already in shape. She already works out. She's already doing the things most people are trying to convince themselves to start doing.

But instead of looking at the progress she's made and deciding she had done enough, she bought a weighted vest.

She intentionally made the workout harder.

I've been thinking about that a lot.

Because there comes a point in almost anything worthwhile when what used to be difficult starts becoming comfortable. The workout that once exhausted you becomes routine. The responsibility that once intimidated you becomes normal. The goal that once seemed impossible becomes something you expect.

That's progress.

But progress creates a decision.

Do you become comfortable with where you are, or do you add some weight?

When Progress Becomes the Danger

I've been experiencing a small version of this with the content I've been creating.

There have been times when I would put a video out and barely anyone would watch it. Ten views. Twenty views. Maybe a little more.

When you're putting time into writing, recording, editing and posting something, those numbers can be frustrating.

But lately, I've started seeing some movement.

A video gets 100 views. Another one gets 200. Maybe one reaches 300.

And you know what?

I'm excited about 300 views.

I'm grateful for 300 views.

But I can't build a house there.

Because the same number that represents progress today can represent complacency tomorrow.

That's what the weighted vest has been reminding me.

My friend didn't add weight because she was failing.

She added weight because she was succeeding.

She had developed enough strength to carry something heavier.

Maybe we need to start looking at success that way.

Success Isn't Always a Signal to Relax

We usually think about pushing harder when something isn't working.

We're disorganized, so we build a system.

We're struggling financially, so we make a budget.

Our leadership isn't working, so we start studying leadership.

We're out of shape, so we start exercising.

There's nothing wrong with any of that. Sometimes pain is exactly what wakes us up.

But what happens when it starts working?

That's where another kind of discipline is required.

Because failure isn't the only thing that can make us drift.

Success can make us drift too.

We finally get organized, so we stop improving our system.

We become a better leader, so we stop asking where we're weak.

We get into better shape, so we stop challenging ourselves.

We finally start getting 300 views, so we start acting like 300 was the goal.

Sometimes the moment when everything starts working is exactly when it's time to put on the weighted vest.

Grateful Doesn't Mean Comfortable

There's an important distinction here.

I don't want to live my life believing nothing is ever enough.

That's not drive. Eventually, that's just exhaustion.

I want to celebrate progress. I want to stop occasionally and appreciate how far I've come. I want to be grateful for opportunities I once hoped for.

But I've realized something:

I can be grateful without becoming comfortable.

Those aren't opposites.

I can appreciate 300 views while working toward 3,000.

I can appreciate the leader I've become while recognizing how much better I could lead.

I can appreciate the systems I've built while asking where they're beginning to break down.

I can appreciate who I am today while still believing there is more in me.

That's the power of the weighted vest.

It doesn't say, "You're not good enough."

It says, "You're stronger now. Let's see what you can carry."

What Can You Carry Now?

Maybe that's the question we should occasionally ask ourselves.

Not just:

What's going wrong?

But:

What's going right—and what does that make possible now?

There are things you're capable of today that you couldn't have handled two years ago.

You've learned things.

You've survived things.

You've developed skills.

You've built discipline.

You've become stronger.

So maybe the next step isn't fixing something that's broken.

Maybe the next step is intentionally making something that's working a little harder.

Add some responsibility.

Raise the standard.

Set the bigger goal.

Have the harder conversation.

Try something you're not completely sure you're ready for.

Put some weight in the vest.

Not because what you've done isn't enough.

Because what you've done has prepared you for what's next.

Put the Vest Back On

That's what I'm reminding myself as I watch the numbers start to move.

Celebrate the 300.

Be grateful for the 300.

Learn everything I can from the 300.

But don't let the thing I once hoped for become the place where I eventually settle.

Put the vest back on.

Because 300 views aren't proof that I've arrived.

They're proof that I can carry more.

And maybe that's one of the biggest differences between drifting and living driven.

When you're drifting, comfort becomes the destination.

When you're driven, progress becomes preparation.

So look at what you've accomplished. Appreciate it. Celebrate it.

Then ask yourself one more question:

What weight are you ready to carry now?

Live Driven.