Unmasking Greatness
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Unmasking Greatness
Why Progression Season Matters More Than Off-Season
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Throwback episode
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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Off-Season vs. Progression Season
Speaker 1Welcome 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 2Today 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 2But 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 .
Killing Your Inner Negotiator
Speaker 2No-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 2Again , 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 2And 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 2You 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
Making Your Why Bigger
Speaker 2becomes easy . That's powerful , your why . Why are you doing it ? Why are you doing these things ?
Speaker 2Why 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 2But 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 2We 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 2So 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 2You know understanding , you're going to , you have goals , you have results that you're trying to achieve . You
Fall in Love with the Process
Speaker 2want 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 2Now 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 2I 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 2Okay , 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
Time Management Comparison
Speaker 2one . 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 2So 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 2Now 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 2About 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 2At 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 21.30 , 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 2Spend 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 2So , 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 2You 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 2You 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 2This 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 ?
Stop Drifting, Start Progressing
Speaker 2You 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 2I 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 2So , 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 .