All gas, no brakes

Weightlifting is my favorite sort of anecdote and analogy for life. It’s gradual and slow when you’re in the middle of it, but then one day, you look at your bar, and you’ve got eight big plates on it.

And it’s funny how it all happens. In the beginning, you’re a rank novice with a lot more enthusiasm than skill or strength. So, you go at it. You’re sore, but you start to see fast gains.

Maybe your significant other mentions that they’ve never seen your legs so solid. It boosts your confidence even though you only squatted 225 pounds today. But it’s true: even though you’re nowhere near your physical potential, it’s the strongest your legs have ever been.

But time changes things. As you pile on weight, progress slows down. Sometimes, it’s all you can do to rep the same weight as you did a couple of days earlier. You feel strong as hell other days, and that next five-pound increase is easy.

Whatever you do, the most important thing is to keep going. Forward momentum is imperative to weightlifting. Once you’re outside of that early novice stage, taking any time away from your routine can mean a 5-10% reduction is necessary to keep forward progress.

Two steps forward and one step back.

Freelancing and solopreneuring are very much the same way. You have to keep your foot on the gas all the time. Like, really, all the time. When things start clicking, and you have a little money in your pocket is not the time to relax; it’s the time to double down. The same holds true with weight training. When you are hitting PRs, it’s the time to push harder, not the time to coast.

And yes, I’m saying this mostly to remind myself of it.

Whatever you’re building today, if it’s worth building, it’s worth being your priority. All gas, no brakes.