As I’m recording this it is a rainy Sunday morning, I’m sipping my hot beverage looking out the window at the trees that have started to change colors. It’s a very relaxing picture but let me warn you this is not going to be the tone of this episode.
The pace so far today is giving me an opportunity to reflect on the past week and this past week was anything but tranquil. I was already a little off balance when something good happened and yet it sent me into a spiral.
Let me set the scene. Last weekend I drove my friends to the airport in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday and that began for me a week of house sitting and doggie sitting. My friends have two dogs and one is a one-year-old Australian Shepard. He requires a lot of attention and engagement and will get in trouble if you don’t wear him out.
This was also the week the BNI leadership positions transition over and as the incoming Secretary/Treasurer of my chapter there were a lot of things that needed to be requested, communicated, decided, put in place and prepared for.
I have also taken on being Vice President of the board for the Maine Women’s Conference this year and we have been in a recruiting phase for the board for the past month. All of a sudden this week there was an influx of emails with nominations and applications to review as well as attempts to schedule interviews for the candidates.
While all these things were not necessarily meant to happen all at the same time they did. It made for a hectic week but I’ve seen weeks like this before.
Sunday and Monday were very productive days for me so I felt really good heading into the week.
What I also had on my calendar was a large time block on Tuesday for training for my goal of 1000 Spartan-regulation burpees in good form in one workout.
As I’ve mentioned on the podcast previously, I recognized I needed some expert help on this goal so I began working with Alex who is a personal trainer and nutrition coach in August. Alex put together a training and nutrition plan for me that we execute and review on a weekly basis. To save my joints in my weekly burpee workout Alex had me doing no more than 500 burpees in these weekly workouts. The focus of those workouts was initially getting down the proper breathing and form and once I nailed those the focus was to try to do the workout a little faster each week.
Based on the times I was hitting Alex and I guessed that it would take me about 4 hours to hit 1000 burpees if I could stay at a steady pace.
This week the training plan was to do burpees slowly and steadily for 4 hours just to get my mind wrapped around how long it was going to take. The best day for this workout was Tuesday as I didn’t have any meetings in the afternoon. I knew I wasn’t going to be good for much than basic activity after doing any kind of a cardio workout for 4 hours.
So Tuesday morning I began doing burpees slowly and steadily figuring I’d hit around 900. What happened occurred to me like good news and bad news all at the same time.
The good news is on Tuesday, October 2nd at 11:41 am ET, after doing burpees for 3:38:34 I hit 1000 Spartan-regulation burpees done in good form and achieved my goal.
I shared with a friend that it was a little tacky to share that “I did intend to but I ended up doing 1000 burpees in my last workout.”
She responded that there is a saying, “practice hard so game day is easy.” I completed 1000 burpees so easily because I was prepared for it; better than I realized.
I also joked with Alex that I think he used reverse psychology on me. By telling me to go slow and just do burpees for 4 hours with no goal he made it easier for me to hit 1000 because there was nothing riding on this workout; there wasn’t any pressure. I settled into a kind of meditative state just focusing on breathing in, breathing out, awareness of my form and keeping count.
The bad news is I’ve been in a bit of a funk about it ever since.
After some contemplation I hit on the pitfalls that created this experience for me and I'm sharing these in the hopes that if you ever find yourself feeling let down rather than joyful at hitting a big goal you can find your way out of the funk.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this episode this past week was a perfect storm of things that are important to me requiring a lot of attention all at once.
You need to know that as much as you and I plan, as much as you and I prepare, it doesn't stop "life" from coming at us.
Sometimes, even when we've done all the clearing away of what’s not important to us, so we can focus only on what is important those things suddenly have needs at the same time.
Don't judge yourself and your life too harshly. All you can do is your best.
However, the work that can be done now in preparation for the next time is to move the needle on what your best looks like.
Can you practice more awareness, presence, patience and listening? Can you take better care of yourselves so your body is better absorb brief periods of living at full speed?
It is no mistake that I am choosing mid-October as the time to do The Accomplished Course Part I: Energized and In-Control. We’ve just gotten through the busy end of summer beginning of fall period and the holidays are coming.
Now is the time to change your perception of what you can and cannot handle. What will you focus on to prepare for the next active wave?
In The Accomplished Course I’m going to give you some insight into how you are handling stress right now and the tools to manage what is coming at you more effectively so you actually decrease and even remove the experience of feeling stressed.
Imagine having life coming at you full speed yet you still remain calm and in-control.
When you can remain calm and in-control you will be more productive, more effective, more enjoyable to be around and you will hit your goals more quickly.
I hear people say all the time, “I know what to do I’m just not doing it.” It’s always a stress reaction that is keeping them from it.
If you’ve been thinking that you would like to work with me this is one of your best opportunities to do so. Go to womentakingthelead.com/energize to find out more and get yourself registered.
This round of The Accomplished Course will close to new registrations on Friday, October 12 so take the step and get yourself registered now.
One last thing…
You guys, I did 1000 Spartan-regulation burpees in good form in one workout and I did it in the month I said I would do it, October. Thank you for being a part of my journey and supporting me along the way.
As always, I hope this was of value to you and here’s to your success!
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