“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” – Robert Burns
After an extremely long season, which started at Amy Dixon’s No Sight No Limits camp in Chula Vista and ended at Turnstone Dare2Tri’s camp in Fort Wayne, I had a plan for 2018. It involved having a little bit of a break and then hitting things hard. Having planned out an equally long 2018, I saw this as the best route for success.
But then a thunderstorm of personal stuff started and derailed that plan. It will all be great stuff in the long-term, but it derailed what I had planned. When this happens, you can either say ‘screw it, focus on X’ or you can come up with a Plan B (and in my case usually a C, D, … X) and move forward. This is the first half of the title of the blog, and the first battle.
I know it’s sometimes very easy to say ‘this sucks, I’m out’, but that’s not the right attitude. Even if you have to temporarily back away or radically move things around, there shouldn’t be a reason to sit on the sidelines forever. Not only will you miss out on a lot in life, but you owe it to yourself and those who’ve supported you to get back out there. See my Leaning Tower blog for an example of this. Things would have gone radically different for 2017 if I hadn’t won out in that you vs. you battle.
But once you win that first battle, it’s not over. It’s onto round two for you. It’s very easy to find ways to backslide, legitimate or not. You’ve managed to refocus, now it’s just staying on that new path. And I’ll be honest, that’s not always easy. But when you falter, all you can do is pick yourself back up and keep moving forward.
The most important piece of all this is to remember that while it’s an internal fight at times, it’s not fought on your own. You’ve got a tremendous support network that can help you (coaches, friends, family, etc.) when you need it. They’re there to support, encourage and drive you.
When December starts tomorrow, things will kick into high gear for me. My 2018 season starts early, and I need to be ready for it. While I know that the second part of the fight will continue all month, I know I’ve got the support to win it. And the motivation to keep moving forward through a challenge with friends.
