187 BPM: The Accuracy of Effort
20-minute time trial. A simple test to see how close I am to my goal.
I noticed right away how nervous I felt. My head wasn’t in it, not fully. Discipline is what got me to the track that day, but once I started, I realized I needed more than just discipline to carry me through.
Early fatigue hit me harder than expected. Panic and disappointment came instantly: “Damn, already? It’s too early. I don’t think I’ve got it in me to hold this pace.”
The negotiations began. My brain scrambled for reasons why it’d be okay to ease up. Why it wouldn’t matter if I just tried again another day. I even started discounting months of consistent training, telling myself it wasn’t proof enough that I was ready. The longer I ran, the louder those thoughts got.
And then I said something I’ve said only to myself before: “I need the accuracy.”
If I eased up now, if I made excuses, I wouldn’t know where I really stood. I wouldn’t actually know how close I was to my goal. I had to see this through. Not for the result — but for the accuracy of an honest effort.
So I stayed on the work.
Something shifted. I was still tired, still hurting, but my perspective changed. I wasn’t just chasing the pace anymore — I was chasing the truth about myself. I leaned into the fatigue instead of fighting it. I spent time with the discomfort I didn’t want. And in doing so, I stepped beyond what I thought I was capable of.
That’s where the lesson lived.
The Accuracy Principle
Here’s what that trial taught me:
People hesitate to attempt the work they can’t see themselves doing.
The uncertainty, the fatigue, the fear of how it might feel — it keeps us from trying.
Without a goal or purpose, it’s too easy to step away before we find out what’s possible.
But goals don’t have to be big. They just have to mean something to you.
Accuracy isn’t about perfection. It’s about honesty. It’s about putting in the kind of effort that leaves you with truth instead of excuses. Whether you hit the mark or not, you learn something real.
When you only aim for what you already know you can do, you stay in the same place. But when you try for the work that makes you nervous, the work you don’t see yourself doing — that’s where growth begins.
At the end of the day, doubt isn’t about your ability.
It’s about how you see yourself.
Change that story, and you change the outcome.
Takeaway:
Stay on the work. Whether or not you reach your goal, make the effort accurate. Honest effort is never wasted — it’s data, it’s progress, it’s proof that you showed up.
187 BPM wasn’t just a number that day. It was a reminder: truth will always be worth more than excuses.
