"Lose weight" "Get fit" "Be smarter with your money" "Change your life in 30 days"
"Be more productive in 2010".....
It's enough to make you fold your arms over your head and try to block it all out! The New Year tends to bring so much pressure that we stop before we even start because we are sure that we can't make it all happen. Trust me, most of the Mermaids reading this feel the same way...it's all too much so don't even try.
Get your arms off of your head and look around you, the New Year is just that, a New Year. It is full of opportunities and excitment and adventure...your job is to trust that you can do what lies ahead.
The new year simply brings an opportunity to look at where you've been and then to look ahead and see how you might want to do it differently. I don't think that a top 10 list of ways to make your future bright will really make the changes you need. In the end, it's all up to you. That may not be what you want to hear but it's the truth. Unless you are ready, well then you aren't ready.
So if you're ready...keep reading!
Looking back on 2009, when it comes to fitness, to race goals what did you do that you liked? What are you most proud of? What would you like to continue and build on? What are some steps you can take to keep moving in that direction?
How can you set and realize new goals? There are many different ideas on how to reach your goals, I thought I would share my experience with you.....
Of all the goal setting techniques I have used over the years, I have found one that for last few years has actually worked, over the long term and over the short term. It may seem a little simple but in my experience sometimes the simplest things bring the best results.
In 2007 I was in the midst of starting two very big adventures alongside all of my other responsibilities and training. I was beginning as head coach for Team Mermaid and was also starting a non profit for women with a good friend. Needless to say I was overwhelmed with the prospect of what I had taken on. I was pretty sure that I would fail at everything, not be able to train or even go for a short run and make a mess of things. I kept telling myself that and sure enough, It was hard for me to see any positive results. The words in my head set me up for failure emotionally and in my everyday life. It felt like everything was work and the positive aspects of my life were getting watered down by the language I was using. I would say almost everyday, "I will never get all of this done", "My knees hurt so I shouldn't run and I have so much to do that I can't get that run in, see Heidi, what made you think you could do all of this?".
After begining to see how my string of frustrations was affecting my life, needless to say, I needed to change my attitude. I made a decision to start changing the words that were coming out of my mouth. I started saying out loud (while running on the trails where no one could hear me of course) "I will be a good coach and give these Mermaids what they deserve", "I will keep bringing women down to Mexico and helping to shift their perspective" and first thing in the morning "I will get out for a run on the trails today because I want to". At first it seemed a little presumptuous but then somehow it felt like it was working.
I needed to get the negative out and replace it with a "can do" language. It all really started when I was training for an ironman triathlon. The list of things to do was beyond my scope of imagination. How do you, as a mom, working full time, doing non profit work, fit in an ironman training schedule?
There were times that I felt like I failed before I even started. Have you ever felt that way? Does the idea of training for a run or a triathlon feel insurmountable in the shadow of your everyday life? You are not alone and you can do it if you want to.
With ironman training it became ONE DAY AT A TIME....we've all heard that and the truth in it resonates when it comes to fitness and changing your habits. When my coach would send my training plan for the month, every single time I would look at it and think, NO WAY. I will never be able to do it. Then I started putting on my calendar my training schedule one week at a time, baby steps. Then each night before I went to bed, I would think about my day coming up. How would I fit it in? How would I juggle the other responsibilites in my life without negleting them or feeling guilty about training. Sometimes the choices were easy, fitting in the workout didn't cause any havok. Other days, it was difficult but I would handle the day as it came and would keep saying to myself "I will run this afternoon". As long as I kept saying that to myself, it would happen. When I did make it out the door for the run finally there was such a sense of success that it carried over into the next day. There were plenty of times where I couldn't fit the workout in or I chose not to fit in. That was a whole learning experience on its own. It was difficult to find grace for myself when I felt like I had failed on those days, I would remind myself that tomorrow was a new day and an opportunity to do it better. I would say out loud, "It's ok, everything will be ok". I don't mean to make it seem like the training was a breeze and because I kept these fresh mantras going every day did it all go smooth as butter, it was hard and I learned things about myself that I wouldn't trade for anything.
Training for any event takes sacrifice, it is hard to be the kind of athlete that has to juggle so many diffferent roles. With patience and grace for ourselves, we can do it.
If you continually wake up everyday and tell yourself that you can't do it, that you won't be able to make it work, then you will be right. I have a magnet in our kitchen that reads "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" (Henry Ford). Mr.Ford was right....you have the power to choose what thoughts run through your head, where your feet go and what kind of words come out of your mouth.
You want to make a change and don't know how?? One step at a time. Maybe you are looking to increase your distance in racing this year or you are hoping to increase your speed, your fitness or your attitude towards training. You have thought about it over and over and you've decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Where do you go from here?
Back to my questions from above, I think it's important once you've done some racing and training to look back. Not to just see your mistakes but to look at the positive impact it has had on you. It's important to look at both the good and the bad and learn from them. So take some time and think about those questions, what can you learn from the YOU in 2009? What do you want to carry with you into 2010 and then look at what you would like to leave behind as you start a fresh new year.
Decide on your events for the year and make a plan the makes sense in your world. Each of us has so many different responsiblities and each year they change. Maybe last year you were able to do 4 or 5 events and this year as you look at changes you are lucky if you are able to do 2. Try not to be frustated by that, rather think about how dedicated you will be to those 2 events.
As you get ready for the events you put on the calendar, make sure you have a training plan that is realistic, how many days a week can you really dedicate to training? Put goals on the table that you can accomplish. Why decide to do a training plan that requires 8 workouts a week when you can barely juggle the balls as it is? Look for something that honestly fits into your schedule or it will be difficult to maintain, you will feel frustrated and won't see the results you want. Start with a lighter load and see if it works, if you find at the end of every week that you have more time than you thought, then add more the next week. Training plans are flexible and remember, you are doing this because you want to. You made a choice to be a Mermaid, to move your body, to set goals. Don't shoot yourself in the fin by putting expectations out there that you'll never meet.
The longer I coach the more I know that having friends along with you is very important. You don't have to do it alone and in the end there is probably someone waiting for you to ask that NEEDS you and your support. Look around you, tell your story, you've heard me say it before, someone needs to hear it and they need to see you living out your goals.
Change the words that come into your head, you have the power to do that. Stop the negative tapes running through that say you'll never get it all done. Gently remind yourself that you will, you will do what you have set out to do. If those tapes don't change it will be a long road of training.
We don't have to buy into the idea that at the start of each new year we have to have our acts together. Hopefully we are all learning from eachother that we don't have it all together, that sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail. Sometimes life is very smooth and sometimes it is so rocky our eyes roll in the back of our heads. In the end, we all need eachother to live out this wonderful life and it's all the sweeter with friends along the road.
Fitness, training for events, choosing to bring something positive into our lives as women together, it only highlights the good in ourselves and in this world. Try changing the words that come out of your mouth, find a goal and take action! Stop staring at the goal thinking it's too big, decide to do it. Say it out loud, decide who you are going to be and live it. No more excuses, as Nike has said so well for so many years, Just do it. Seriously, it's that simple. I've done it, I've seen many women do it through Team Mermaid and I know you can. When you are ready, you will be ready and you will suprise yourself.
Happy New and Hopeful Year to you.
Coach Heidi
