The Lie and the Climb

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The Lie and the Climb

 

The biggest lie of our generation is this: “When you get what you want, then you’ll be happy.”

Happiness doesn’t come as a result of circumstances and it doesn’t come from anything materialistic either. You might think losing 30 pounds is going to make you happy, but it isn’t going to make your kids love you any more than they do. You might think buying that new big house is going to make you happy, but you’re going to realize it’s a surface level attempt to impress a bunch of people who couldn’t care less. Putting your happiness off until some time in the future when your struggles and insecurities are gone is never going to work. Happiness isn’t a destination to be reached. Struggles never end, problems persist forever. Sure, they can mold and change with our lives but they’ll never leave us. Our insecurities are our insecurities and every attempt me make to mask them from the public only roots them further into our identity.

Happiness doesn’t happen all of a sudden when you get you want. It’s a constant work-in-progress of you seeking out your problems, finding solutions to them, overcoming them and then hunting down the next problem. Happiness only comes when we enjoy finding and solving problems.

We all keep telling ourselves it’s the end goal we crave and that is what is leading us to our failures.

We are so romantic about the result – the image of us with a ripped six-pack and every member of the opposite sex drooling over us when we go out in public or the image of us driving that new fancy car to our new giant house as everyone looks at us with jealousy. We love the idea of the view from the summit. We love what we think the world will look like after the grind and hardwork are over.

But very quickly into our journey we learn that we don’t like the grind very much. We only love the end.

We want the reward without the struggle, the result without the process and the victory without the fight.

But what defines us is what we are willing to fight for. Life is a never-ending upward climb. If you believe at any point you’ll be done, that you’ll reach a point where you don’t have to climb anymore, then you’re missing the entire point of being alive and the entire point of happiness.

The joy comes from the struggle. The joy comes from the sacrifice we are willing to make. The joy comes from the pain. The joy comes from the problems. The happiness comes from the work, not the result.

The fulfillment comes from the journey, not the destination.

The journey is going to be long and brutally difficult. It’s going to hurt ten times worse than you imagined and you’ll run into ten times as many setbacks than you imagined. I am here to tell you it’s supposed to hurt. That’s the entire point. Start enjoying it.

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MICHAEL GAINES

Founder & Head Coach

My career started as a personal trainer at your typical “big box” gym franchise. Although it was a challenge from day 1, I was ready for it – clients at 5 am, clients at 9 pm; clients who aspired to be collegiate athletes; clients who had never exercised; clients who wanted a “quick fix” and crash diets; clients who were lost; and clients who were stepping into the gym for the first time.

It was a daily challenge working with a “one size fits all” program and platform created by executives focused on profit over people. Everyone is so different, so why is the program the same for each person?

I became continually frustrated – how was anyone supposed to hit their individual goals with a program created for an “average” person. How were my clients ever going to feel encouraged when their progress and success was based on impossible standards? It was wrong, and I was determined to do something better.

There needed to be a genuine collaboration of long-term strategies aligned with our member’s unique goals and lifestyles. Couple that with a safe place where they are heard, seen, and understood. Where programs for exercise, diet, lifestyle changes, conquering health battles, and gaining control are creatively designed, individually prepared, intelligently managed, and continually monitored. It took some time to get it right, but I finally curated a program in a place where each member is individually recognized, yet part of a like-minded community. A place we call The X…and a program that is Proudly Different.

My name is Michael Gaines, and I am the proud founder and head coach of The X. Before you ask…the answer is yes – I hold numerous certifications and have put in years of research that serves as the backbone of every individual program we curate. Our members are my family, and it’s hard to articulate the joy I get watching them triumph over their health, fitness, and diet battles. The results are real, long-term, and rewarding. Stop in and say hello. Tell us how you define success and we’ll help you get there!

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