Unmasking Greatness

Why Progression Season Matters More Than Off-Season

• Chris Kakouras • Season 3 • Episode 13

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We need to reframe the concept of "off-season" into "progression season" because personal development and growth should never stop. 

• Progression season means continually improving in all areas: health, relationships, finances, spirituality
• The "inner bitch voice" negotiates with you to avoid doing what moves you toward your goals
• Make your why so big that your how becomes easy—connect emotionally to your reasons
• Fall in love with the process rather than just focusing on results
• Two approaches to life: drifting through with minimal focus vs. controlling your time with purpose
• Deep work and intentional time management yield exponentially better results
• There's no off-switch in life—the only thing that should die is your old self
• Your actions reveal your true priorities—are they aligned with your stated goals?

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Unmasking Greatness. I'm your host, chris Kikoris, a lifestyle fitness coach and mentor. This podcast is about unmasking your greatest potential, finding your purpose and crafting a life worth living. Health and fitness has been the gateway drug to all of my success. My continuous drive to keep learning and surround myself with other high achievers forces me to level up, which has developed my mind to something I never thought was possible. This podcast is here to share what I've learned and continue to learn with all of you. This is your sign to take back control of your health, mindset and personal environment. Strap in as we are recharged and always find value in the show. Please subscribe and share, as we can all get better together. Let's go.

Speaker 2:

Today I'm going to come at you aggressive because I want you going into the weekend leveling up your life. So, with all good intentions, now, this topic specifically has been on my mind because we actually have some athletes that we take on in our program that's getting ready for a competition in the next week, but the term that is always coming up, and not so much with them, so I'm not calling them out initially, but a lot of people hear the term off-season. You know my off-season is coming up. I can't wait to get into an off-season because in season, in prep, you have a lot of training sessions, sometimes two a days. The nutrition is a little bit of aggressive. I mean, you are an athlete, but what about an off-season and everyday person? Right, what does that look like? Everybody has these ambitions and goals and things that they want.

Speaker 2:

But are you living your life in an off season? Actually, I don't even like the term off season. We don't even use that terminology. We call it progression season because that season should be utilized to improve you. With bodybuilding it's improving muscle. We're trying to increase muscle mass because when you're in show prep you really can't do much. We're maintaining the muscle as we drop the body fat. So progressive season means let's get bigger, let's put on some more muscle. Same thing in your everyday life. You're not a competitor. You should always be in a progressive season, leveling up areas in all areas of your life, whether it's your finances, your business, your work, your relationships, spiritually, any avenue, your health, of course. But sometimes the old you must die. For the new you to be born, the old you must die. What does that mean? It's the identity that you have within yourself.

Speaker 2:

No-transcript, a little sore, and they say recovery is good. So you know, I know I'm supposed to work out today, but I could take a day off. You know I'll just, I'll start back next week, everything will be okay. That little, that little negotiation, or maybe it's even in your job. Maybe you do something like sales and you're telling yourself you know you're doing your sales calls and you start getting a little bit fatigued. And now that little inner voice is starting to tell you well, you did, okay, you closed two. Those people, they'll call back when they're ready.

Speaker 2:

Again, you start to negotiating the things that you know that you should do, those things that's going to move the needle forward to help you reach your goals. That little voice is so toxic. And see, we have two voices inside of us at all times. It's kind of like a dual battle One's a little more dormant and one's a little more active. Now, which one that is, you can probably dictate by looking at your life, but the point is but the point is the one that's the negotiating, the one that you want to basically constrain, constrict, is that little toxic, inner bitch voice, the one that's constantly just weighing you down, holding you back, making it sound okay that you're not doing the things that you need to be doing. You know.

Speaker 2:

And so, with that it's understanding, you know, do you need the willpower? Are you searching for willpower to fight those conflicts, those internal battles? You know Where's that willpower come from. You're probably like Chris what do you mean? Willpower? Where does that willpower come from? And that willpower, I'm going to tell you right here.

Speaker 2:

You want to make your why so big that your how becomes easy. I want to say that again. You want to make your why so big that the how becomes easy. That's powerful, your why. Why are you doing it? Why are you doing these things?

Speaker 2:

Why is it that you want to accomplish your goals? Because we always can figure out things. If we really want it, it's really important for us to achieve it. We somehow magically come up with solutions for those right. And that's where you got to sit with yourself and figure out what is that, why? Why do you want to achieve it? Is it going to change the outcome of your relationship, change the outcome of your income, change the outcome of your health? Why? Why do you want it done? That's why tons of people come to me and they're like Chris, I want to lose weight. Cool, why? Like sure, like I can, we can obviously logically say that you need to lose 30, 40 pounds.

Speaker 2:

But why is it that you want to lose that goal? It's got to be affecting your life and on an emotional level, right, is it that you can't get on the floor and play with your kids? You can't even go to a theme park because you can't walk more than 20 steps without having to sit down. Maybe you have to rent an automated motorized wheelchair to get around, and now you're embarrassed. Those kind of things is what's really going to anchor you to wanting to reach your goals. So there has to be a level of self-control, right, there has to be a level of self-control to help you achieve these things and when you understand what that why is. That's when you start to build that self-control and when you start to understand that the things that you're doing, that others aren't willing to do, is going to yield you the results that they will never get right.

Speaker 2:

We always look at others and say I wish, I wish I could have that, I wish I could have that body, I wish I could have that car, I wish I could have, you know, the freedom to travel wherever I want to go. But are you negotiating with yourself with all those things that you know that you need to be doing? You know what are the things that they had to give up, sacrifice, put the time in, continually educate themselves to be able to obtain something larger than what most cannot. I can promise you there's something they're doing, something that you're not right, because if you continue doing the same thing that you're doing, you will get the same results. I can promise you that. And when it comes to your health, it will be worse, because if it wasn't, that case would be. You would literally just keep continuing eating the same amount of food, which is overeating inactivity, and you will gain more weight. It's the facts. If that was not the case, then everybody would stall out at a certain weight and that would be. You know, okay, you tapped out, you maxed out. No, your body will adjust for the good or the bad.

Speaker 2:

So we need to understand, we need to take that little inner voice and we need to start gathering it right. We need to get control of understanding what we really want and get that little inner bitch voice and we need to like, constrain it. We need to constrain it. We need to throw it in the trunk of the car, because you're the driver, you're driving that car. Throw that voice in the trunk, duct tape it right to the point where, even if it was trying to yell, you can't even understand what it's saying. You want to starve it of oxygen, never let it see sunlight again, because when you're driving, you want to put that pedal to the floor. And we're going because we know exactly where we want to go. The path is clear at that point. But until you take control and constraint, we need to understand what we're doing, why we're doing the things that we're doing, and not only that.

Speaker 2:

You know understanding, you're going to, you have goals, you have results that you're trying to achieve. You want to make sure that you fall in love with the process, fall in love with the work, because here's the thing, the result is not always what it seems to be. There will always be another goal. You know you have 40 pounds to lose. My goal is to lose 10 right now. Hit 10. I got another 10. Do another 10. You know you drop the 40.

Speaker 2:

Now I want to actually start focusing on building muscle. I want to start building my body sculpting. You know there's always something else, but what's going to help you stick to that process stick to you know, the routines, the rituals, the things that's actually going to get you there is actually enjoying the process. If you enjoy working out, if you enjoy the foods that you're eating and is getting you the results that you want, don't you think that's a great equation? Don't you think that's gonna help you get to the result you want and keep it long-term? Of course, and that's where you need to be very creative or get someone to help you to create something that is sustainable long-term for you, because you trying to level up your life should never end.

Speaker 2:

I always say that I'm on a forever personal development journey because I'm always trying to fill my cup up. I'm always trying to improve my skill set so that I can be better. I can be a better human being, I can be a better friend, a better father, a better husband, a better team leader, a better business owner All those things. The only way to get better is to constantly learn, educate yourself in the areas that you need. You know. Here's a really good example.

Speaker 2:

Okay, there's two different types of people. Okay, and I want you to take this into consideration, there's two people, all right, your first one. Okay, this person's going to wake up 8 am. They're going to eat their breakfast. Okay, by 9.30,. You know they're going to get to work, answer some emails, probably scroll on Instagram, tiktok, you know, do some, maybe do some admin stuff, and then by 11 o'clock, they're finally going to actually do some deep work, some work that's actually going to move the needle. But in an hour, 12 o'clock, they're finally going to actually do some deep work, some work that's actually going to move the needle. But in an hour, 12 o'clock, is lunchtime Time to take lunch.

Speaker 2:

So what happens? You go take your lunch and then, about an hour, you get back to work, about 1.30, you're trying to gather your thoughts, kind of get back in the zone by 2.30, you're back into your deep work. And then what happens? About 3.30 or so, get a random call, a call that's not scheduled. You answer it. Now you're down a rabbit hole in a conversation that wasn't planned. 5.30, it's time to go home, you know, and because your day is so exhausting, because you feel like you've done so much, you go home and you just shut down. Maybe you turn on Netflix. You don't really spend quality time with your family because you're tired, you're exhausted from working all day long, and then you basically go to bed, rinse and repeat, and when you add up you know the amount of hours that actually made a difference and again move that needle forward two hours, two hours of deep work throughout that whole entire day.

Speaker 2:

Now let's talk about the second person. The second person that wants to really kind of level up, ready to take control of their life. They want something. They know their why. This person is going to wake up at 4.30 am. They're going to wake up a little bit early, right, and they're going to get straight to work. They're going to do some deep work by six o'clock. They're going to get their son up, get him dressed, get him ready for school and help the wife get things ready and then drop the kid off at school.

Speaker 2:

About 7.30, eight o'clock they're at the gym work out for an hour and on the way to the gym they listen to a podcast. Let's fill that cup up while we're in the car. Together, let's elevate together. Let's learn and grow together. Listen to a good podcast. Get to the gym work out, have a good workout for an hour, you know. Get back home by nine, have a post-workout snack. Back an hour, you know. Get back home by nine, have a post-workout snack back at work.

Speaker 2:

At 10. 10 am, deep work starts. No emails, no texting, no social media. We're going deep work, the things that are moving the needle forward. 12 pm is lunchtime. Right, we already crushed the hours of work prior to the first guy. 12 pm is lunch. 12.30, you know, now we're going to check the emails, now we're going to respond to any texts and calls. This is when we're actually going to, you know, do some of that admin work.

Speaker 2:

1.30, we're back into the deep work, moving the needle forward. 6 pm we cut it off. 6 pm, we're done. We close the doors. It off. 6 pm, we're done. We close the doors, you know.

Speaker 2:

Spend time with the family, eat dinner together. You know, by 8 pm I'm, you know, I'm putting the sun down. Read him a bedtime story. 9 pm I'm in bed with the wife and, you know, maybe even do a little bit of reading right in the area that I'm trying to improve in. Again, let's fill that cup up a little more, or something else.

Speaker 2:

So, as you can see, the second person is me. It kind of unfolded towards the end. I'm talking about me. That is my schedule. I do eight hours of deep work a day and people ask me wow, chris, you've changed so much. Wow, you're doing so great. Yeah, that's because I control my time, I control my schedule, which helps me make sure that I'm filling my cup up in every area. I have time for my family. I have time for my wife alone time. I have time for my work. I have time for educating myself.

Speaker 2:

You have to understand how to manage your time to be able to be in control of your life. If you are drifting through life, you are losing. You have to understand how to manage your time to be able to be in control of your life. If you are drifting through life, you are losing. You have no idea where you're going to end up. It's like being in a little rowboat with no paddles, in the dark, no sail. You're just going where the waves throw you, no control, there's nothing you can do right? That's a horrible feeling, you know that's a horrible feeling to have, and there's no way that you can progress that way, because you can never make it to the island that you really want or the mainland that you really want to. You know this is how you're going to be able to make the ground to reach your goals. Drifting is unacceptable and you must accept to be truly great at anything. It's going to take sacrifices. It's going to take sacrifices to achieve any sort of goal.

Speaker 2:

You know, maybe that's you know you're not going to be able to hang out with certain friends because they don't align with what you want. Maybe it's, you know, going out on the weekends. You know, because you know it's not that you. You know can't go out with your friends on the weekends and have fun, but you can't control yourself. You don't have the self-discipline yet to control your amount of drinking, to control the amount of eating that you do, to control the time that you need to go home. You get out there and guess who else is negotiating with you? All your quote-unquote friends that are saying, oh, just stay out a little bit longer. Oh, just one more drink. Oh, we're going out to Waffle House afterwards, let's go. Let's go there, we'll hang out and then you can go home. You're going home at three in the morning. You know what I mean.

Speaker 2:

This is not aligned with your goals and this is why your why is so important. You have to understand why is this really important to you? You know, and I can tell you this. You don't have to tell me and you don't have to tell anybody else, because your actions will, your actions are going to tell exactly what you want in your life. So if you are filling your cup up with podcasts, reading books, educating yourself, filling your cup up with podcasts, reading books, educating yourself, controlling your time, having non-negotiables, having boundaries, that tells a lot about you. You know that you respect yourself. Or is it that you just kind of drift? You just kind of go with the flow? You know, I don't like scheduling, I don't like having being on a time. I just want to chill and watch Netflix when I get off from work. I want to just watch mindless shows that don't do me any good, just mental masturbation. I just want to feel good and just shut down. It's going to tell a lot about your goals and what you want. So understand why is it that it's so important to you? And this is why wrapping this up. Why is it that it's so important to you and this is why wrapping this up?

Speaker 2:

I don't like the term off-season. Off-season means you want to shut down. It sounds like it's off. It's like a light switch on off. I'm either on or I'm off. But I don't want you to look at it like an on and off switch. I want you to look at it like a lever. That's like powering up a nuclear power plant, like the farther we flick that switch up, the more energy that we're pushing into it, and that is the progressive season. That's what I want you to think of, not an off switch. There's no off. The off is when you die, and the only thing that needs to die is the old you.

Speaker 2:

So, going into the weekend, I want you to really remember why you want to achieve those goals and make sure that your actions are aligned with it. Just write them down. What do you do every day? Does it align? If it doesn't, then it's time to make a change. So, anyways, hope you guys have a great weekend. This was meant to really get after it. Get you focused, make sure that you're aligned. You know we're almost at the tail end of the year and everybody's going to be doing these New Year's resolutions. Forget the New Year's resolutions. Let's always progress every day, every minute, every hour. There's more to life than just drifting. All right, I love you guys. See you next time.