As I observe the process I'm noticing different things that ring true in everyday life. One of the main things is 'deprivation'. Deprivation means the lack or denial of something considered to be a necessity. You see in order for Ryan to achieve his goal he has to go through a process of building during his off season. He works hard in the gym to increase his workload by adding weight to each exercise. He targets every muscle in the body to make sure each intricate muscle is being challenged and stretched to become bigger and better. It takes time to build muscle and it comes by increasing weight and taking in proper Protein. I'll watch him digest enormous amounts of food in off season and indulge in all of his favorite foods. Build...Build...Build, is the motto! However, when it comes time to begin dieting and training for a competition it's 'cut back' or 'deprivation' time. So at around 16 weeks out from a competition he'll begin to altar his diet, cutting out certain foods and condiments. Little by little, week after week, until he gets to about a month out and then the real deprivation starts. He's still functional, mentally & physically during the early weeks of this dieting/training process, but towards the end is when there are noticeable changes that begin to take place, not only physically, but also in his psyche.
As Ryan approaches one week out from Nationals, the wear and tear on his body is beginning to take a toll mentally. His capacity to remember things is altered, the ability to physically walk across the room at times can be taxing. Just to be able to complete his workouts and diet regimen in the day is an enormous task that is draining every ounce of his nature.
You may ask what this has to do with anything? Sometimes God allows us to go through a season of 'deprivation'. He removes all the excess out of our lives. We feel emotionally drained, fragile, listless. God will remove certain people that he knows are not meant to be in your life, or maybe he'll take you out of a job that may possibly be keeping you from pursuing your dreams and destiny. He may even move you to a city where you know no one just to set you in the right place so He can speak into your life. Whatever your deprivation is, it is for your good. BUT, I have good news. You see what happens when you finally, get through this stage of deprivation, you start loading up! What I mean by that is... after Ryan deprives himself and gets completely depleted he begins a process called 'carb loading'. What this does is fill his muscles out so that he has that healthy look again. His body is ridded of all the excess but full at the same time and he begins to feel normal again.
This is what it's all about...ridding ourselves of all the unwanted excess so that when it's time to fill up again, we are at our BEST! God wants to prepare us for our destiny and our time to shine! So if you've been feeling depleted lately, take courage! God is just getting you ready for a time of LOADING UP! Filling you with what he has planned for your future! I sure don't mind the depletion, if I can get LOADED!!!
Today marks one week from his National competition in Atlanta, GA. We have no idea how he will place but if there is one thing we do know, he will be in the BEST shape of his life at this time next week! He has told me many times, that although his desire is to win or even place, as long as he feels he's better than last year and has made enormous improvements he feels like a winner already! Now that's the attitude of a Champion!
What a great point! I had not thought of it that way, but it is so good - be better than last year - improve - feeling like a winner! I liked this post!
ReplyDelete