I was humbled this weekend, reminded that no matter how hard I train or how much time I devote to something or how good I think I am there is ALWAYS room for improvement, there is ALWAYS someone better than me and there is ALWAYS something that will challenge me more.
I was out on my mountain bike this weekend with some friends who decided to take me down a double black diamond trail, which I had never seen before. I have been working hard this summer on my bike and lately I have become overly confident (without reason to be) on the trails I have been frequenting but that double black trail morphed my ride that day into a lesson that reminded me I cannot expect to be the best, I cannot do everything and that I am not perfect.
As adults, we expect perfection from ourselves. We are afraid to make mistakes or try something new in fear that we might look like we do not have a clue what we are doing or that others might judge us. But in order to improve we must step out of our comfort zone and accept the fact that we may not be the best at something immediately.
Two of my clients ran a 14km race this weekend, one of whom was attempting to run farther than she ever has in her life. She was nervous before the race but I was proud of her for the fact that she accepted that she would not be perfect, and she even figured she would probably come in last (which she did not). I told her to use the race as a learning experience and laughed out loud when she told me she did not know she was supposed to pick up a race package the day before the race – a lesson learned for next time. She did not care that she barely made it through the last 6km because she did finish and she accomplished something she had never done before. Instead of being disappointed that she did not meet her time goal, or that her legs were so sore afterwards she could barely walk or that she was beat by a women twice her age she asked me what she needs to do to get faster and complete her first half marathon that she is training for in November.
It’s funny, when I look back at when I first started entering competitions I realize that I had no idea what I was doing and I made so many mistakes but I grew and with each race I entered and I improved. It was not long until I was placing in my age group and passing on my experience to others who were just like I was many years back
Do not beat yourself up if you are the slowest person in your running group because you are there, running, and one day someone will join who will need your help. Do not get upset if you cannot do as many push ups as your friend can in boot camp, or you need to take a break in your spin class or you have to ask someone how to use a new machine in your fitness center. Instead, keep pushing, learning and stay positive while you continue to find ways to challenge yourself. Stop worrying about what the next person beside you is doing and focus on you and what you are doing to be better.
Attached - Russell Brand at yoga.
