“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." – Mahatma Gandhi, Indian leader

Sometimes it takes the encouragement and inspiration of someone else to help you reach your maximum potential. Other times, just one small criticism or even a hint of doubt from those around you can bring your dreams and aspirations crashing down. A positive state of mind is very susceptible to outside influence. We can’t help but be strengthened (or weakened) by the people in our lives, so it’s important to associate with people that will inspire and encourage us to pursue our goals.

A couple of years ago, I started working out in a CrossFit gym. It was amazing. The longer I went, the more I kept building up my strength. My fitness was off the charts, I was rocking the workouts, and I was really happy to have found the place.

When I first started, I couldn’t do more than three or four pull-ups on my own. I had no upper body strength. I decided that I wanted to work on this weakness, so I set up a challenge for myself. I was determined to do 100 pull-ups, non-stop. I started to work on pull-ups every day I was at the gym. Little by little, I got stronger, and I was able to do more and more. Once I learned how to do kipping pull-ups, my numbers increased. I didn’t tell anyone about the challenge. I just kept working at it, secretly determined to reach my goal of 100 unbroken pull-ups.

When I reached 20, I was really excited. Never in my life had I been able to do that many pull-ups. When I hit 30, I started to contemplate success. Then I hit 40, and little by little, I got up to 48 pull-ups. I was getting closer to my goal, and I was ecstatic. Then, one day, a friend of mine noticed how much I was working on pull-ups and asked me what I was trying to do. I told her about my goal of getting up to 100 unbroken pull-ups, and she looked at me like I was nuts. She said, “Wow, that is really hard. I don’t think you can to do that. Not even elite athletes can do that many pull-ups in one shot. I definitely don’t think you will be able to do it.”
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She was just voicing her opinion, and now that I know her better, I know that she is not a negative person and she didn’t intend to bring me down. But at that moment, with that comment, she got the self-doubt bug in my brain, and I was never able to go higher than 48 pull-ups. I kept trying, but always stopped at 48. Sometimes I wonder if I’d never told her about my goal, would I have reached it? Or if she’d said, “Wow, that is awesome. Keep going; I know you can do it!” Would I have reached my goal then? I’ll never know.

I never got higher than 48 unbroken pull-ups, but I still hold a record on the gym record board, and for that, I’m proud. The biggest lesson I learned from my failed pull-up challenge was how important it is to stay positive and determined. I let one person’s negative comment and doubt seep in and take a way my determination to finish, and I believe that’s what got me in the end.

Above all, I believe in the power of a positive state of mind, and the people around you hugely influence that state of mind. If you surround yourself with positive people, not the negative and jealous type, you will reach new heights. Instead of always thinking that you’ll mess up or telling yourself that you won’t reach a goal before you even start, you’ll begin to believe in yourself. With a positive state of mind, you’ll attract the support of others who want to see you succeed.

My friend who doubted the success of my push-up challenge is an awesome person, and she is an inspiration to so many. But on that day, her comment, combined with my weak self-confidence, was too much for me. Maybe now that I am stronger and surrounded by people who I know will encourage me, I will have to make the attempt again.

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