The question became a staple of my daily routine, less infuriating to hear each day than the day before it. In February 2022, a friend of mine talked me into running my first biathlon, a 5K run-and-gun event, in Tallahassee, FL. While a proficient shooter and frequenter of local two-gun competitions, I had (a little more than) a little way to go as far as the whole "cardio" thing was concerned. Fortunately, keeping active, whether that was through weightlifting or sports beginning very early in life, has never been too much of an issue, however, the Peloton bike and sidewalk never made their way to the top of my list of friends. Needless to say, I needed something to get me back on track, and a quick search for "running" brought me to the "ASICS Runkeeper" app. With the biathlon scheduled a short four weeks out, it was time to get started.
Shoelaces tightened and a Haley Strategic FlatPack 2.0 on my back, weighted with five "healthy" PMAG's, an IFAK, along with several other kit essentials, I clicked "Start Workout" in the Runkeeper app. The first few sessions flew by without a hitch, and I remember telling myself "Well, the match may not be be a walk in the park, but you sure as heck aren't coming in last place."
Running three sessions each week per the Runkeeper workout plan, things definitely started heating up in week three. Once again, I heard the coach's voice say "What is your motivation today?" I thought and said to myself out loud "Too easy," as I considered the biathlon itself to be my motivation for not wanting to puke after a mile run. However, I will never forget really hearing her say it for the first time. What happened next took me wildly by surprise.
Interval after interval, walk after run, I couldn't stop trying to find the actual, fundamental reason that I am motivated at my core. What is it that is pushing me to wake up, do good, live well, and pursue my hobbies? Is it the fact that I want to compete at a high level in the upcoming biathlon? Like I said, too easy. Is it performing at a high level to secure my career and financial future? Yes, that is certainly part of it, but that still doesn't feel like the whole story here. "Are you actually having an existential crisis on this beautiful, sunny Florida afternoon?" I thought to myself, laughing audibly. The short answer was, of course, "No," but, was I?
What is it that motivated me to finally break some obviously bad habits? What is it that motivates me to get my butt out of bed, up off of the couch, hit the weights, eat (relatively) healthy meals, hit the range, continuously improve my posture as an Engineer (software, that is, in its many forms), laugh with and love my wife, help my friends, cut my hair, mow the lawn, fold laundry, change the toilet paper roll? It clicked:
"Don't be a Liability."
Something amazing came of that short four weeks, a mantra that keeps me focused and disciplined in almost every aspect of my life. Those four simple words changed my life and continue to roll off of my tongue every day.
If I have learned anything over the past few years, it's that you, and you alone, are the only person that you can count on to gather the facts, pick yourself up by the bootstraps, and prepare for anything that life may throw your way. When seconds matter, are you a liability to your loved ones or yourself if, Heaven forbid, an emergency requires you to be the one who must take action? After all, if not you, then who?
Thinking ahead five, twenty, even fifty years from now, are you going to be a burden on the healthcare system, your community of tax paying citizens, and, most importantly, your family? If the crud hits the fan, are you physically and mentally fit enough to move your family to a safe location and fight your way through or out of a bad situation?
Our individual roles on this planet may not consist of sending rockets to space or creating an algorithm to beat the stock market, however we should always strive to limit our Liability Score, bringing that as close to zero as possible, in order to better serve God, our community, our families, and ourselves. Think of this as a sliding scale, with a subjective upper limit full of an exhausting list of reasons that we might be a liability to someone else or ourselves, and an objective lower limit of zero, however unattainable that goal may actually be to achieve. We will never be perfect, but progress is key.
Do better, be better. Don't be a Liability.