Pushing the limits to motivate others
Gan: Overcoming physical hurdle is the first step to breaking mental barrier
PETALING JAYA: Motivational speakers are known to employ various means to motivate people, but Gan Teck Hooi takes it many steps further than others when it comes to pushing the physical limits.
Recently, this 46-year-old business coach challenged himself to complete 10,000 repetitions of “double-unders” in 30 days as a message to his two sons, and clients.
In rope skipping terminology, a double-under is when the rope passes under the feet twice per jump.
Gan spread his task over 30 days, meaning he had to complete at least 333 reps a day.
“This feat is one-of-a-kind, and has never been achieved by anyone before as far as research on Google shows. The closest on record is a young man who did 10,000 reps in 30 days, but not on consecutive days, meaning he can rest in between,” said Gan, who admitted he thought of giving up halfway.
“The movement needs a lot of coordination, and to do 333 a day is seriously torturous even if I allowed myself pauses in between. Doing it 30 days consecutively can ‘kill’ your legs,” he quipped.
Gan said he wanted to spark conversation that in order to achieve a goal, one must possess determination and discipline, other than skills and knowledge.
“Double-under is essentially skipping but with a more intricate wrist motion – the rope swings twice per jump. It is one of those tasks that seems easy to execute until you actually try it.
“Double-unders was chosen because it serves as an analogy for entrepreneurship – it may seemingly be a good idea, but one may not understand the minimum skills required.
“The least one should know (or know how to acquire) are skills in financial management, people management, marketing and some legal knowledge,” he said, adding that the 10,000 reps served as high targets that businesses set out to achieve.
“To achieve the target, one must have a strategy and proceed with determination. A strong mindset is essential in combating negative thoughts and criticisms that may engulf oneself.
“The 30 days symbolises the discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Whether we like it or not, entrepreneurs have to get their hands dirty and build consistent good habits to reach the end goal.
“Knowing the goal, I don’t rest when I’m tired, I rest when I’m done,” Gan told The Star.
That said, his motivation dwindled by the 10th day. Doubts started to emerge and he even contemplated cheating to create the record. “Upon reaching the 15th day, my body was starting to hurt real bad.
“By the 20th day, I could barely walk without feeling sharp pains,” he said, adding that some of his friends told him to stop.
On the 25th day, Gan felt that he had no reason to quit even as he suffered excruciating pain in the shin and knees. He felt he had passed the point of no return.
“I learned that even with skills, knowledge, determination and discipline, being surrounded by the right-minded people is essential. The motivation and support they provide were paramount in helping me,” he said.
His eldest son, Yu Pin, 18, recalled the days when his father was skipping outside his room, with the accompanying yelps whenever the mis-timed skipping rope hit him.
“I could tell that he was determined to complete the challenge as he ultimately wanted to demonstrate that we can achieve anything if we wanted to,” he said.
Younger son Yu Jin, 15, said it was not easy for his father to accomplish the challenge due to his age.
“Whenever I was giving him some motivational quotes as he was skipping rope, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to give up, but once I encouraged him, I saw how his eyes lit up, and he pushed through the pain.
“He is my role model and I can always look up to him,” he said.