What does “Full Throttle Always” mean in the Full Throttle Always – World Fitness Community
In our first part of the article on Full Throttle Always – World Fitness Community, we shared the speech Navy Seal Admiral William McRaven gave and talked about the significance of just getting Started. If you have not heard or read this motivating speech, I recommend you do so here. In the second part of the article, we talked about Steps in facing goals that seem too large to accomplish. In this final article, we are going to talk about the significance of Habits.
A quick recap on the meaning of “Full Throttle Always” in Full Throttle Always – World Fitness Community. “Full Throttle Always means going full in, all out, and committing yourself. You could go Full Throttle Always to complete a task at work or shop till you drop to find that perfect gift. FTA is about completing a goal or movement towards a goal. That might take 2 hours, 20 years or more than a lifetime.”
Our Bodies are still a Mystery
Our Bodies are remarkable, and we are just learning how complex they are. All the world data could be held in about 4 grams of DNA. DNA is the instruction booklet for life, and we take it for granted because, well we are just born this way. Our body is a complex living operating system of which we have little control or input. Think of just some of the functions our body decides without any direction from us like Breathing and Digestion. Our living cells create and keep order by performing a never-ending stream of chemical reactions every second.
Our Brains use 20% of the energy produced in our bodies. And here is the one area that we do have some control and freedom if we are wise enough to use it. Even in this arena our body tries to categorize and conserve precious energy.
When we make the same decisions over and over, we develop a pattern or a habit. These habits can be beneficial and life enhancing. Most of us get in the car and put the seat belt on without even realizing that we are doing it. We decided that putting the seat belt on was good and we continued the behavior. Our brains filed this into the box that says don’t waste any more energy and just do it. That is great but it takes just as much effort, If not more, to stop that habit if we change our minds about it in the future. Habits are useful and energy-conserving unless and until we decide to change them.
When these habits include a chemical substance that our bodies have come to rely on from repeated exposure then the habit becomes addictive and extremely difficult to change.
Deciding to Change
At the simplest level it becomes about our thought recognition and control. The tricky part about habits is that, we might not even recognize we are having the thought. We just do it. I like to get up in the morning and have a cup of coffee, but then decided I wanted to drink a glass of water first. I literally had to put an empty water glass in front of the coffee machine the night before to get myself to drink water first. Now it’s just part of my routine and I enjoy it.
I had a once-a-day diet coke habit for a period, and I would buy it at a drive thru window. When I decided to quit that habit, I actually had to roll down my car window while in line and practice saying “iced tea” out the window or I would just automatically order a diet coke. Crazy isn’t it.
Our thoughts, actions, habits and beliefs are the part of our bodies that we have control over. Even then we must be vigilant about what information we input to make our choices. This freedom of choice we have over our bodies is worth fighting for even when uncomfortable or painful.
To change a habit, first you must recognize it as a thought and examine the thought and the information it is based on. Maybe you want to quit that evening glass of wine. What can you replace it with because it is an enjoyable habit that marks the end of the day? Maybe some seltzer with a dash of balsamic vinegar would work or a cup of tea. Finding a replacement is a good first step. But at some point, the thought comes, and you have to say No to it.
How many times have you had a thought like “I should do some sit-ups” and then ten minutes later forgotten all about it? Wait ten minutes when faced with an unwanted thought. Engage in something else, look for support, play a mindless online game or some solitaire, learn to juggle. Every time you face the unwanted thought and debate with it, ignore it, or change it and do something else, you are on your way to changing that habit. It won’t be easy, but the truth is the only way to change it is by having the compulsion to do it and then overcoming the thought in that moment. Practice, strategize and set yourself up to overcome that thought when it is compelling.
Our Bodies function in ways we cannot even fathom and have no control over, but our thoughts we can control, and these thoughts turn into our habits and our actions that will decide the health of our body and the course of our lives.
Rising to the Challenge
“The Full Throttle Pose in “Full Throttle Always” is a moment of celebration. The flexed arm showing accomplishment and growth while the outstretched arm reaches towards future goals. Enjoying A moment of satisfaction of a job well done, of a task completed, momentary because the road before us continues. Yelling “Full Throttle” while you take this pose is not boasting but a moment of joy.
The “Full Throttle” pose is a powerful symbol in the fitness world, standing for commitment to personal growth, a healthy lifestyle, and a sense of community.”
Decide how you want your life to be. Get Started, Use Steps, Change Habits and you are on your way to being “Full Throttle Always”.
