You control daily training execution. You control food complianceevery meal, every macro, every decision to eat what your plan says instead of what you feel like eating. You control sleep habits. You control communication with your coach. You control consistency over months and years when nobody’s watching and the progress feels invisible.
That’s it.
That’s your domain.
Nothing else is within your control, so shut the noise out.
You do not control judges. You do not control placings. You do not control who shows up in your lineup—whether it’s three guys or fifteen, whether they’re all off or they all brought their best package. You do not control genetics. You do not control social media response or who gets more likes or which physique goes viral while yours gets ignored.
Marcus Aurelius said it centuries ago: “You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
Translated to bodybuilding: do the work, let the result reveal itself.
If your mood rises and falls with comparisons, you’re mentally untrained. Epictetus put it plainly: “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
You see someone else’s conditioning photo and panic? That’s mental weakness. You check the lineup two weeks out and start second-guessing your entire prep? That’s ego pretending to be strategy. You place lower than you expected and let it derail your next offseason? That’s letting external outcomes control your internal state.
The Stoics called this the dichotomy of control.
Seneca wrote: “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” You’re not actually behind you just saw someone else’s highlight and let your mind spiral into catastrophizing instead of staying locked into your own process.
Here’s what the mentally strong athlete does: executes the plan, trusts the process their coach built, steps on stage with whatever they brought, accepts the feedback without emotional collapse, and gets back to building.
Marcus Aurelius again: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
Stop arguing about placings, politics, judging standards, or whether your structure is good enough. Be the guy who shows up, does the work, and improves year after year regardless of external validation.
Control your training. Control your nutrition. Control your recovery. Control your mindset.
Let everything else fall where it falls.
That’s it.
That’s your domain.
Nothing else is within your control, so shut the noise out.
You do not control judges. You do not control placings. You do not control who shows up in your lineup—whether it’s three guys or fifteen, whether they’re all off or they all brought their best package. You do not control genetics. You do not control social media response or who gets more likes or which physique goes viral while yours gets ignored.
Marcus Aurelius said it centuries ago: “You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
Translated to bodybuilding: do the work, let the result reveal itself.
If your mood rises and falls with comparisons, you’re mentally untrained. Epictetus put it plainly: “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
You see someone else’s conditioning photo and panic? That’s mental weakness. You check the lineup two weeks out and start second-guessing your entire prep? That’s ego pretending to be strategy. You place lower than you expected and let it derail your next offseason? That’s letting external outcomes control your internal state.
The Stoics called this the dichotomy of control.
Seneca wrote: “We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.” You’re not actually behind you just saw someone else’s highlight and let your mind spiral into catastrophizing instead of staying locked into your own process.
Here’s what the mentally strong athlete does: executes the plan, trusts the process their coach built, steps on stage with whatever they brought, accepts the feedback without emotional collapse, and gets back to building.
Marcus Aurelius again: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
Stop arguing about placings, politics, judging standards, or whether your structure is good enough. Be the guy who shows up, does the work, and improves year after year regardless of external validation.
Control your training. Control your nutrition. Control your recovery. Control your mindset.
Let everything else fall where it falls.