In bodybuilding, there is a
principle known as "train-to-failure" (TTF). The idea is that you lift that amount of weight
that permits you at least ten
repetitions, but continue the lifting to the point of failure: the point at which you can no longer sustain the repetitions.
The concept of this
principle behind is that --- a limited number of repetitions to failure were sufficient to stimulate muscle growth, as long as there was an adequate period of recovery following the training stimulus.
The idea of TTF itself is a reflection of a principle in exercise physiology called SAID: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. The body, according to SAID, will develop along the lines of the demands imposed upon it. If you impose intensive demands upon a muscle set, that set will develop more than others that have not been challenged. Now, how do we apply this into our life to match our desire of becoming whom we want to be?
The vast majority of people live their lives the way uninformed athletes train: they take on too many demands, none of which are sufficiently intense to take them to failure. Theirs is the equivalent of lifting a twenty-pound barbell for hours on end. They become tired, but not strong. By the time they get old, they are chronically tired, and then retire from all demands. For many, retirement is an exercise in mental, physical, and spiritual de-conditioning.
Truly great people live their lives on a TTF basis. They challenge themselves until they fail, and that provides new challenges. They ultimately succeed, because the challenges that produce failure also build their adaptive capacity. Their minds and their personalities exhibit SAID: they adapt to imposed demands.
Now ask yourself: If you trained in the weight room as hard and as smart as you train for own goal in life, how strong would you be?