Stop Waiting For Applause

Stop waiting for applause – in the gym and in every facet of your life.

Stop waiting for the camera shot and someone saying "good job."

In fact, if someone says "good job" to you, just ignore them. You don't need "good job" – you need to get better. You need to do better. And in order to do something well, you need to know what you did wrong.

So, when you're done with a lift, or a race, or a presentation, or a paper, or even putting your little kids to bed, don't sit there and wait for someone to tell you that you did a good job. That's only going to help your ego, not your future performance.

Look for the ones who can help.

We all need helpers. The best ones aren't the coaches waiting with a "You did great!" when your lift looked like sh**. Or the ones who beat you down, no matter what, and never have a good word to say.

The best coaches (and the best friends and partners and loved ones) look at us with a tilted head and a smile.

They fix us with a steely gaze and give us the truth, as they see it: what you did right, what you did wrong, what you need to work on for next time.

They love us enough to tell us how we can improve.

Sometimes, those aren't easy words to hear. But you need to really hear them.

The best coaches in this life know when to kick you in the ass and when to hug you.

Let them. You're going to be a far better person if you do.