This stone taught me a brutal lesson about perspective.
I saw it in a museum about the Olympic Games in Greece.
The ancient Olympians used it as a training weight.
They held it over their head.
With one hand. For a period of time.
It weighs 143 kilograms.
I consider myself fairly strong.
I deadlift 150kg for reps.
Weighted pull-ups with 35kg strapped to my waist.
I’ve carried a 40kg rucksack up mountains for days.
Standing in front of this stone, I felt small.
Not in a bad way. In a useful way.
Because that’s what perspective actually does, it doesn’t diminish what you’ve built. It recalibrates what you think is possible.
The real danger for high performers is a closed reference point.
When you only measure yourself against your past self, or the people immediately around you, “strong enough” quietly becomes a ceiling instead of a floor.
The ancient Olympians didn’t train to be the strongest person they knew.
They trained against a standard most people around them wouldn’t dare attempt.
143 kilograms. One hand. Overhead.
That stone isn’t there to embarrass you.
It’s there to ask you a question:
What standard are you actually measuring yourself against?
—
PS. Before you can raise the standard, you need to know where you actually stand.
PS: Enjoy this?
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