Little Victories
In life we often celebrate the big victories – the job promotions, the wedding anniversaries or in the fitness realm, the personal records. It’s easy to see why these events are celebrated, there’s usually some sort of hype surrounding it, it’s a big a notable accomplishment and should be celebrated. But we should not get caught up in the big events and should also celebrate the little victories and daily grind of our day that make those victories possible.
Little victories – choosing to eat right, getting in a workout on an off day, powering through a rough night or busy workday and still working out are huge accomplishments! Sometimes the best progress happens on those off days when everything seems to go to pot. I’ve been there plenty of times, driving through rush hour traffic to get to the gym or park, super tired or frustrated from a long work day, knowing I should probably go work out, but fighting myself to just go home. Even once I’m there, I’m sitting in my car, like, “just pull off and go home! No you’re already here!” back in forth. Ninety per cent of the time, I get out and head off to get my workout done. And it’s true, you won’t regret that workout. There have been plenty of times where the workout went great and I saw a lot of great progress – added more weight to my squat, chopped off some time on a run, so I end up feeling glad that I chose to get that workout in. Lately, in the early days of quarantine, there have been more days, where there isn’t nothing glamorous to report about, the workout was probably mediocre, but the win is that I still got it in and chose fitness over being sedentary and slowly chipping away at my goal.
The effort of our work out isn’t always our optimal output, but we have to take solace in knowing that we gave it our best for that moment. As humans, we often strive for perfection, but it’s unrealistic to output one hundred percent perfection in our workouts day in and day out. Not to say that the want to kill it every time isn’t there, but stress, life events, injuries get in the way. Our continued efforts that we put in will lead to big results when we have a bigger goal in sight. Having a target to reach a few eight to twelve weeks away allow for the hiccups of training to happen without disrupting the path toward the goal. Over slept and missed your morning sweat sesh? Left your workout gear at home? Truly trashed your legs from your last brick workout? By banking enough time in your training plan, you can feel okay in knowing that your goal isn’t lost from missing that one workout or from not being able to output your best that day. Treat your goals as you probably do at work with a big project, or for a key client, under promise and over deliver.
Life is full of halfway days – where we’re just getting through a typical day, but slowly working towards those tent pole events in life – buying a house, saving up for a vacation, working toward a promotion. But those small continued efforts of stashing aside money, adding new job skills to the resume are all for purpose. Likewise, efforts at fitness should mimic. What little victories can you do that will lead to big results? What are the goals you want to achieve three months from now? How do you get there? What monthly, weekly and daily efforts do you need to do to get you there? Have you planned for the hiccups along the way? Champion those small efforts because they will get you to your mountain top.
If you need help in figuring out that plan and finding a way to make it happen, email me at info@endurancefitnessperformance.com and let’s talk about organizing a feasible action plan to help you reach your goal.
