Sometimes things don’t quite work out like we want them to. Even with the best laid plans, things can get sideways. It’s easy to give up. Easy to stop. It’s easy to wallow in your own self pity. We have all been there, I know. But knowing that we know, now we try something different. We can regroup.
Restart
Monday’s are a classic day to begin anything. Most diets, lifestyle changes, and workweeks all start on Monday. “Come Monday, I’m going on a diet.” “Come Monday, I’m going to the gym” Most of the time Monday comes, and it goes, and we wait on the next Monday. But what if we restarted on another day? What if we picked a Wednesday, or a Friday? Something that is a bit easier to manage mentally. I mean, we are coming off a weekend and are having to go back to work on Monday, which is stressful already.
Most people have a hard time believing this, but, failure is okay. Don’t look at it as failure, but another opportunity to excel. In an article on Business Insider, it compares Michael Jordan and Thomas Edison. It discusses how they were failures. Not really the picture you imagine when thinking of a failure, but both were able to restart from what they learned.
Replan
Recently I had some setbacks due to an injury and couldn’t lift weights like I wanted to. I was able to do some things to keep me moving, but it wasn’t the same. I couldn’t squat the way I wanted. I couldn’t grip the bar to ensure my safety, so therefore I had to look at doing something else.
I moved from a mid bar squat to a low bar squat. Basically, the barbell moved down my back a bit and rests on the spine of the scapula (it’s not on my spine, but on my shoulders). With this new position, it took some getting use to (and still getting use to). I am able to move more weight for my rep scheme and I do believe it has to do with this new position.
The reason I bring this up is that I had already missed workouts and was going to have to start back a lower weight. So, why not try out a new position. Why not re-plan what I was going to do and see if it worked out better. My initial plan had been derailed due to injury, so now I had the opportunity to try something new and possibly better.
The re-planning process can look different to different people. In an article by Michael Hyatt, he discusses obstacles vs opportunity. The article is a good one, but the video he references is one to make you visually understand that things don’t always go according to plan. Be willing to adjust the plan and respond accordingly.
Regroup
We all want to get better. Well, most people want to get better. Fewer put in the work to get better. The process of getting better is to understand where you are at currently. To be able to do that, some self assessments need to be done.
These self assessments can be a quick pulse check or an in-depth analysis. It can be as simple as quizzing a trusted friend to taking personality tests. It can also go as far as seeking help from a professional, but that might be a project for another day. Right now we need to focus on being critical with ourselves.
This criticism isn’t to try to put you down in anyway, its to give an honest assessment of what your strengths and weakness are. Once you are honest with yourself and know where you stack up in the categories that are meaningful to you, the plan to correct or improve can begin.
Putting it all together
At first you might feel like you failed, if you are having to reassess your situation. I realize it’s easy for me to say, but DON’T! Always remember it’s not winning and losing, it’s winning and learning. If you fail at your attempt, you just learned another way to not do it. Fast Company’s article on failing is a great place to start, indicating 4 tips to get back on track.