Push The Rock - The Story of Sisyphus and The Mindset Behind It
The story of Sisyphus is a Greek myth from long ago. If you’ve follow me on instagram, you know that this is my FAVORITE story to talk about. This one and the story about Pounding The Stone.
I love this story because personally, I am training for two 50 mile ultramarathons and a 100 mile ultramarathon: St. Croix 50, Zane Gray 50, and the Lighthouse 100. An ultramarathon is anything more than your regular marathon. So, a regular marathon is 26.2 miles and an ultramarathon is 26.2+. What does training have to do with Sisyphus? Well it’s not just training to be in better shape. It’s also training to be a better friend, training to be a better student, training to be a better salesperson, training to be a better athlete, training to be a better ___________. Regardless of what you’re trying to be better at, it’s all about the process.
Push The Rock
Once upon a time, there was a mortal named Sisyphus. One day, Sisyphus was walking around and came upon a meeting of the Gods. He hid behind the corner and listened in. The Gods were talking about the meaning of life. One of the Gods looked over, noticed Sisyphus, and yelled, “Hey! Did you hear the meaning of life?!”
Knowing that he shouldn’t eavesdrop on the Gods, Sisyphus lied and said, “No, I did not.”
He then proceeded back to his normal daily routines and started absolutely DOMINATING life. Now that he knew the meaning of life, he was crushing it!
But then, he made a mistake… he started to tell everyone else the meaning of life.
Eventually, the Gods found out because everyone seemed to be crushing it. Humans are supposed to have a difficult time. Humans are supposed to be racked with negativity and frustration. They shouldn’t be out there winning every minute of every day.
So, the Gods found Sisyphus and decided to to punish him for not only lying, but sharing the secrets of the Gods. They all got together and deliberated.
The Meeting of The Gods
The first God said, “Let’s just kill him.”
The second God said, “Let’s throw him in the cellar.”
The third God said, “No, that’d be too easy, we need something better.”
The fourth God said, “I got it! Let’s make him push a rock up a hill… for eternity!”
The three other Gods cheered, “That’s brilliant!”
The fourth God proceeded, “And every time he finally gets the rock to the top of the hill, it’ll roll all the way back down. Every time he thinks he’s reached the finish line, the rock will fall back down the mountain. He’ll live in a perpetual state of frustration, anger, and stress.”
So, that’s just what they did. They put him out on the hill and sentenced him to push the rock to the top of the hill.
The first time up, Sisyphus put his right shoulder into the rock. He pushed and pushed and pushed and he finally made it to the top! Only to have it roll all the way back down.
The second time up, Sisyphus put his left should into the rock. By the time he got halfway up, the chafing and rubbing was so bad he had started to bleed. He makes it to the top! And the rock rolls back down.
The third time up, Sisyphus uses his whole body. He used everything he had. By the time he got to the top, he was physically and emotionally drained - and the rock rolled back down.
He started to get frustrated, he started to get angry, and he started to do exactly what the Gods were hoping for.
the fourth time up, Sisyphus knew that there was no way he was going to make it all the way to the top - he was too exhausted. So, he simplified his plan. Maybe he couldn’t make it to the top, but if he just made it to the next tree, the next patch of dirt, the next patch of grass, then he’d eventually get to the top.
The tree came and went.
The dirt patch came and went.
The patch of grass came and went.
He had nothing left. He thought to himself, “Okay… just one more step.”
One More Step
AND BOOM! That’s when everything changed. All of the sudden, a flip switched in his head. His goal was no longer to push the rock to the top of the hill, his goal was to take one more step, and he could take one more step. It was so simple, how could he not?
He became infatuated with the process. He got so excited every time he took one more step, that the momentum and energy created made the next step just a little bit easier.
This time when he got to the top, he wanted to get after it so bad, he kicked the rock and started chasing it down the hill. He couldn’t wait to get back to pushing the rock.
You see, Sisyphus figured out something that most people don’t know. Sisyphus stumbled upon quite possible the greatest secret of all time - that success is hidden in the process.
Success Is Hidden In The Process
If you want to reach your goal, you have to trust the process. Understand that the goal will never be attained without hitting each step along the way. There is no shortcut. There is no special sauce. There is no one coming to help you. You must take that step. You and no one else. You have to trust the process.
Sisyphus figured it out the hard way and if you’re reading this, then now you know. If you want to reach your goals, understand that it’s all in the process. Which is why I love this story.
If I want to run those 100 miles next year, then I have to be pushing the rock TODAY in order to do that. If I want to be a master of the mental game, then I have to be pushing the rock TODAY in order to do that.
This message isn’t for me. This message is for YOU.
If you want to get better at anything, then you have to be pushing the rock TODAY.
Not tomorrow… TODAY.
Literally the only thing you should procrastinate on is laziness. Take tomorrow off. Be lazy tomorrow. Procrastinate tomorrow. If you want to crush your goals, then crush today and make it the best one yet. Step by step, you’ll make it. Just trust the process and understand that you aren’t getting dropped off by a helicopter at the top, you have to work for it.
Success is hidden in the process. Trust it and get to pushin’.
