Nothing Is Worth Doing Unless It Means Effort, Pain, Difficulty
Today, Cary Kolat answers the question, “How do you last in the sport of wrestling?” Kolat was asked how he competed for as long as he did and why he did it. Kolat says as broad and deep of a question this is for him, it’s a simple answer. It’s simple because the task wasn’t easy. Anything worth doing or achieving will be difficult to accomplish. Whether that’s a state title, NCAA Championship, or an Olympic gold medal, doing difficult tasks helps you grow and overall become a better person.
The Journey
Kolat talks about the praise he gets from the wrestling community. He reminds everyone that his achievements came with a lot of losses along the way. With every loss and setback, he never stopped and never thought he wouldn’t achieve his goals. Kolat finished his career with high accolades including two NCAA titles, a World bronze medal and making the 2000 Sydney games team. Ultimately, he did not achieve his goal of World or Olympic gold. At the time this was a hard pill to swallow. Looking back now and gauging his career, Kolat said it was still worth doing because it was difficult.
Comfort is the Enemy
Training should not be something that becomes comfortable. If you find yourself in a position where exercises are becoming easy, you need to make a change. This change could be from training habits or from seeking out bigger and better competition. According to Kolat, being comfortable is the worst thing that can happen to you.
Weight Cutting
No one enjoys weight cutting. Kolat wanted to be at the best weight to give himself the best chance to win. He approached weight cutting by looking at it as if he was getting in shape. He chose to run more than anyone else, stair step to get quicker than anyone else, and biked to have better conditioning than anyone else. The suffering Kolat put himself through during training was all worth it when he stepped on the mat. If you feel like you’re getting comfortable, try finding a new partner or have a coach come in and push you.
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