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Gazelle's are very fast animals. They have been clocked at speeds of up to 60mph while zig-zagging over un-even terrain with rocks and grass. They are dynamic, quick, and limber. Though unfortunately for the gazelle, they are only the second fastest land animal in the world.
When it comes to raw speed, it's the cheetah that clocks in at number one with an incredible top speed of over 70mph. While running, a cheetah can cover 26 feet in a single stride.
Amazing.
This is of course bad news for the gazelle, because cheetahs love to eat gazelles. If a cheetah sets its sight on a gazelle, it's over. No chance, game over, go home. The gazelle will likely lose its life and the cheetah gets to eat dinner.
Unfortunately for the cheetah (and good for the gazelle), nature gave the gazelle one little advantage over the cheetah: Unmatched intensity.
You see while the cheetah is faster, it is unable to MAINTAIN it's speed for more than 20-30 seconds. If the chase goes on for too long, a cheetah will burn out.
A gazelle, however, can maintain it's top speed for minutes. Long enough to out-run the cheetah and live to see another day.
Unmatched Intensity
Okay we're done with the national geographic style animal facts - so what does this have to do with your fitness?
Well, nothing.
I'm not here to talk about running, agility, or high-intensity sprinting. Nothing physical. Instead I'm talking about your MINDSET.
I want you to adopt the mindset of the (second) fastest animal on the planet. Not the cheetah, but the gazelle. Why not the cheetah?
A cheetah will attack its goals with a very focused and fast approach. A cheetah goes all-in for a short time, but will quickly burn out if it misses the mark. A cheetah is only running for its dinner. If it fails, it will try again tomorrow.
A gazelle, on the other hand, is running for its LIFE. A gazelle knows that if it fails in this moment, it's all over. There is nothing left to run from.
Most of us adopt the mindset of the cheetah. We go all-in on a fitness goal but we keep a mental safety net for if (when) we fail.
It's a trick we play so we don't feel bad about our lack of progress . "I'll start my diet back up on Monday, no big deal..." we think to ourselves.
This is the cheetah mindset because there's no severe penalty for failure. This is why days turn to weeks, which turn to months and years - and nothing has changed.
I encourage you to adopt the gazelle mindset. Go fast, but keep a sustained pace. Change your lifestyle habits for the long-term.
Outlast the cheetah because if you don't do it now, when?
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