“The Devil is in the details.” In looking back, boy was he right…

I was a junior in college and in the best shape of my life. I had just suffered through a disappointing basketball season, and was getting ready to start training again. It would be the last big off-season. One more chance to prove to myself, and my Dad, that I was an elite basketball player. I definitely wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Bigger, stronger, faster, no one was going to recognize me, or be able to handle me, when I returned.

Coach, had caught me in the gym shooting by myself, actually thinking, projecting, getting myself primed for the training I was going to do. He sauntered up to me and asked what I had planned for the summer. I told him. His response, “The Devil is in the details.” I then got a lengthy explanation that I half listened too. The only thing I really caught was his belief that the Devil gets in your ear the older you get. The more tired you become, the more he has you listening. “Not a problem, Coach! I have it under control.” I kind of did…

That off-season was tough. I found that each day was an uphill battle to get myself to the gym. Often, I would plan so much to do, and end up bailing on half of it. I fought through it as best I could. Got pretty big, pretty fast, pretty strong, however nothing as impressive as I had hoped. I had not been mentally tough enough to stay fanatical about the task at hand and had also set up a regiment that was too complex and demanding. The Devil had been whispering to me.

What I didn’t hear Coach say that day, and I think he did try to tell me, was that to him, the details weren’t so much a sinister situation as much as that the daily motivation required to achieve the results will always be tested. Keep it simple, stupid, was probably in there as well. It’s the will to do the job that is questioned on a daily basis. Big D will be waiting. The Devil talks to you when you are tired. He is at hand when there is something more fun to do then train. He’s laughing when you go back for thirds at the ice cream buffet. He is waiting for you at your weakest moment and he yearns for you to stop and listen.

I despised my senior year basketball experience…

I’ve discussed, in what I hope were entertaining ways, how much I believe in the Vibram Five Finger product. I think it’s the best running shoe out there. I think it’s one of the only athletic products that actually helps with your production and overall health. Wearing them for the last two years has absolutely been beneficial for my health and I enjoy singing their praises.

However…

“The Devil is in the details.” No matter what shoe you are wearing, if you do not have an intense drive to put the work in, the results will not come. Vibram Five Fingers shoes are not gag items. They are not the flavor of the month, either. They are also not the perfect pill. You will need to run, and work out daily. You will need to watch what you eat. Discipline has to be not just a habit, but a life choice.

Designing your activities is a huge skill as well. Take on more then you can chew, and you might quit early, or damage your body. Set up something too light, and you may never get anything real out of it. Again, discipline becomes the ability that will put your over the top here. If you can manage your time, and constantly design workouts for yourself, you will create a healthy lifestyle and the body that you want.

Remember, though, the Devil is always talking. He is always ready to offer an easier path. He’s clever, and always ready to point out how difficult, inconvenient, and pointless things may appear to be. No matter the time of day, he’ll be chirping.

The real question is…

Are you going to listen?