It is already March! Can you believe it?
We’ve had two months to process who we are, who we’ll be, and what we’ll do in 2019, and even two months in it’s still pretty exciting and filled with promise. The new year always brings with it freshness, opportunities, perspective, and a renewed sense of inner-strength, determination, and direction.
Most people put goals and resolutions into action on January 1, but typically as athletes, we’ve already had plans. We are training for events we had already put in place as early as 2018 and maybe even 2017. This is what I love about athletes--we know the value of long-term training plans, adjusting them as life happens, executing them, and achieving them, step-by-step. Even when we don’t achieve them, we’ve learned to be resilient, to set our eyes on the next prize or next crucial step, to see obstacles for what they are, things that we are meant to push through, run over, or crawl under, and finally, to just get the work done,
As we continue along that streak of novelty and ride the wave of momentum, the trick is making sure we are able to able to create our own momentum, even when we feel like we don’t have any. How do we do that?
Having an athlete’s perspective and work ethic is helpful, especially when some of the newness has lost its luster.
It’s almost like doing a marathon or any other long-distance event. I’d go as far to say, it’s much like writing a book or working on a piece of art. We’re not always inspired or motivated to create. And sometimes, we are in a mental or physical space that does not seem conducive to training or whatever it is we are working towards. But as athletes, we know intimately the value of pressing on, even when there is no unicorn dust in the air.
We know to get back on track, and move on.
That is how I went into the year, and how I will continue the rest of the year: with a goal, a specific plan to achieve it, back-up plans and allowances for well, life, and a strategy to get to a place of resiliency when things don’t go the way I want or need.
How do I achieve this? By doing the work. Not by simply having intentions (which are critical), but by putting one foot in front of the other, getting my workouts in (even those 3:30 am wake- up calls!), the hum-drum ones, and the ones that I am simply not feeling. Even the ones where I’d rather be doing something else. Even the ones that are amazing and endorphin-filled.
As I said, intentions are important too. When we set one, say to BQ, or do some other crazy long-distance event, we set things in motion. That intention becomes our goal, is imprinted in our memories, and provides an emotional and mental framework for us to get the work done.
That’s where I’m at now.
My intentions for the year were two-fold:
- Get my act together and train like the athlete I am. I’m slowly getting there, (maybe a bit slower than Coach Mike Ehredt likes), but I am.
- Engage in more self-care practices, like getting adequate sleep and eating well while traveling.
- Practice gratitude regularly
I wrote these things down and put them at the front of my consciousness. So every time I have have a late night, I do better the next night. When I travel (which is quite a bit these days) I am conscientious about bringing my own food to airport and staying hydrated. When I’m feeling annoyed and angry, I stop and think about the fact that I am alive, I am able to move freely and unencumbered, and I have a pretty darn good life. I hope this is true for you too.
So, how are you doing? I hope you are on the path to knocking out both small and big goals, and that you’re able to reflect on how much you have already accomplished towards your mission(s).
Happy almost spring!
- Mirna