Why "Doing The Work" Beats "Learning About It"

Because climbing your personal Everest doesn’t happen by reading the manual—it happens when your boots hit the dirt. 

LET'S GET ONE THING STRAIGHT

I’m two weeks into a 20-week training block for a beast of a challenge: 29029. It’s an endurance event where you climb a mountain over and over again until you hit the equivalent elevation of Mount Everest—29,029 feet. You’ve got 36 hours to get it done. Sounds insane? Yeah. It kind of is. But I signed up anyway.

Now here’s the thing…

This isn’t my first mountain.
I’ve trained before. I’ve raced. I’ve pushed through physical and mental walls.
But this mountain? It’s a different beast. Higher elevation. More intense climb. Bigger stakes. So even though I am not starting from scratch, I am starting from a new edge. And trust me—the edge will humble you real quick.

Yes, I did the prep.
I read the books. Listened to the experts. Took the notes.
But knowing about the mountain and actually climbing it? Whole different story.

And the same goes for every goal you’re chasing.

You can do the research. Take the course. Hire the coach. But until you start, until you’re in it—sweaty, sore, stumbling forward—you won’t really know what you’re made of.  And more importantly, you won’t know what the goal demands of you.

One thing that has helped me in every single season? Visualization.

I picture the version of me who finishes. I see her clearly. What she’s eating. Saying. Wearing. Believing. I imagine how she walks, trains, chooses. What habits she ditched. What boundaries she set. What daily disciplines she committed to—no excuses, no fluff.

Because reaching any goal isn’t about motivation.
It’s about embodiment.

Still, I’ll be real with you—this week?
I’ve felt a little off. Deflated. Frustrated even.

Why?
Because the results aren’t here yet.
I’m still carrying extra weight. Still not sprinting up hills as fast or without gasping like a gazelle with asthma being chased by a lioness. Still not where I want to be.

And y’all… it’s only week two.
Not week twenty.

But we live in a world that glorifies instant results.
Salad for lunch? We expect the scale to bow in gratitude.
Fasted til noon? Where’s the magic transformation?

But that’s not how the mountain works.
That’s not how any real transformation works.

You don’t climb Everest with one good day.
You climb it with 10,000 boring, gritty, relentless ones.

So if you’re not seeing the results yet?
Good.
That means you’re in the thick of it.
That means you’re actually doing the work.

Now keep going. Be boringly consistent.  

Grit + Gumption. 

ALG ♥️