When we switch up to that big ring or down to that low ring, we are making a choice. We are acting on a decision. While it may only include a microscale thought behind that choice, and it may even seem like an instinct, it is still an act based on a decision. In our triathlon lives, in our endurance journeys, all of our actions have come from a decision, a choice. Choosing to use that discipline as a tool is what turns a plan into an achievement.
Discipline in Balance
Let’s face it, most endurance athletes are not professional athletes who can commit fully to training, nutrition, and mental focus. For the most part, we are working adults, many whom are parents or grandparents. Balancing our work, families, finances, and often home ownership, creates a unique set of circumstances for those of us who want to Just Keep Getting Better! When the cracks start opening and our focus is uneven, we may experience what we feel is failure. Our concentration starts seeping away. Stress, fatigue, missing workouts, a child’s failed spelling test, the overgrown summer lawn, the burnt sauce on the stove, or the expression of neglect from a partner can all trigger frustration, guilt, and sometimes anger. Fortunately, most triathletes come to the sport with very unique traits of determination and drive. The key to using discipline as an asset is to recall one’s goal, training plan, and the path that led to today. Sounds like a quite simple solution to a popular problem. It is, but only if we remember to trigger that focus at the right time, in the right situation. Accepting that there was not time to cut the lawn and accepting that you can’t take a spelling test for your child and accepting that dinner will burn is integral part of making discipline and focus work for you. Missing workouts for family and adult responsibilities, in the physical sense, can be harmful to our success than the way we handle it emotionally. With focus, as a reflection on the road behind and the road in front, reestablishing the triathlete life balance can come very easily and successful.
Tips:
Discipline on focus
1. Take a deep breath. Repeat a few times. Take stock in everything you have accomplished before today.
2. Write down a list of your goals…before you get started. ALL of them, the athletic ones, the professional ones, and the family ones. When balance tips one side of the scale, return to that list of goals. Take another deep breath. Remember how much you want to achieve and how much time is limited.
3. Keep a balance journal. Write a daily sentence or two each night before bed or each morning with your coffee to include what you feel has taken your priority or tipped the scale. As you write daily, you may see a pattern of too much prioritization on one area of life. Then, address the needs not being met.
4. Yoga, meditation, and relaxation breathing exercises can facilitate the re-focus process. Discipline in Outcomes I’m a forty-something, single mother of 3 active children and a full time teacher. I would love nothing more to head out on the Ironman Chattanooga bike course and hang on Angela Naeth’s tail the whole ride. I’m sure I have even dreamed of that! But, engaging the humility of my reality keeps me focused on realistic, measurable, and achievable outcomes. Shooting high and pushing one’s limits should not be overlooked. Failure is part of the road to achievements. It’s integral to our forward movement. However, setting expectations impossibly high will lead to repeated frustration, limited growth, and possible regret. We all will live with DNF’s, DNS’, or the “worst race of my life” experiences. It is who we are. But, when we don’t succeed at the goals we set, we reevaluate, readjust, and we try again. Many of us have reevaluated and readjusted in the middle of a race that just wasn’t what we hoped it would be. This same process applies to goal setting.
Tips: Discipline on setting goals
1. Ask yourself:
a. Does the goal fit within your financial budget?
b. Does the plan to achieve the goal require more time that you can commit?
c. Does the plan allow for flexibility in schedule?
2. If you are a parent, does the plan to achieve your goal allow time/space for you to include your children? Many times, being able to hop on a trainer while the baby is sleeping or bringing the teenager into the woods for a hike on recovery day can offset any feelings of frustration from a missed workout.
3. Are your expectations reasonable? If you are a 9:30 minute pace runner, setting a 20 minute 5k finish goal next month will either disappoint you or get you injured trying.
4. Look at others’ journeys when the dream seems impossible. Hop onto @iracelikeagirl or @girlsgetgritty or @quintanarootri accounts on IG, or any number of social media groups to read what is possible from thousands of athletes like you.
5. Expectations and goal setting deserve time. If you spend the time to research whether what you want to achieve is realistic, your chance of success will increase that much more.
6. Make a road to seemingly impossible goals. If the achievement seems overwhelming, try to set smaller goals. With each successful accomplishment, celebrate the small successes. The grand celebration will gift you at the end.
Remember that with the discipline to focus and refocus, we are in control. When we start falling apart because our balance is off, we have the skill to counter that fall. Remember that with the discipline to make achievable goals, we can push ourselves to successful outcomes without leading to a path of frustration or regret. Reflect often, be forgiving to yourself, and keep moving forward.