The Transformative Effects of Hitting A Wall
West Sands, St Andrews while I went for a run along the beach
4 weeks ago, I hit a wall.
That morning, I ran the Scone Palace 10k race and had felt sluggish throughout. By the afternoon, I felt so tired I wanted to sleep it my body wouldn’t let me.
That was the sign I needed to tell me to stop. So I did.
A year ago, I’d hit burnout. While I did my best to allow myself to recover, some symptoms started creeping in by December, steadily got worse and here we were again.
This time felt different. After ignoring the signs, my body knew what to do and immediately got to work and didn’t let my head get a word in edge ways.
Curiously, instead of feeling disappointed, I flipped it and started thinking of it as an opportunity. If I deliberately took this time out to recharge, what would I do?
I prioritised sleep, going to bed earlier and taking naps in the afternoon. I started drinking more water. A LOT more water. 3 litres a day, with great ease. Interestingly, I felt my body wanting more plant-based foods and I haven’t missed any of the foods I’ve come to reject from my diet.
I was only eating them to give my body energy to keep going, not through great desire to have them.
Another interesting thing is my mind and body have turned to lessons I’ve learned from years of marathon training to get me through this.
Start with the finish in mind
I learned the value of this early on. Think of how I want to feel when I cross the finish line, the story I want to be able to tell everyone afterwards then work back the way to create the steps to get there.
It takes the journey from hope to deliberate practice.
It’s the same with my health. Unlike last year, my aim is not just to recover but to think of the kind of person I wish to be beyond this, the life I want to live, how I want my business to be, the kind of people I want around me etc then work back the way to create the steps to get there.
A powerful step is to use the above to govern your decision making.
With the goal in mind, I can ask myself if what I’m about to do/eat will help me achieve that goal. If I can answer “yes” straight away, I’ll do/eat it. If I have to think about it, I stop and go do something better instead.
Nothing else matters
Traditionally, I’ve run marathons in the spring and started training on the first Monday in January. This meant I could enjoy celebrating Christmas and New Year safely in the knowledge that as soon as the first Monday came around, the marathon was the most important thing and everything else would be filtered out.
My body has slipped naturally into this with the focus on rest, hydration and taking walks into nature.
Not only has my diet changed but I’ve also started saying “no” more and halved my screen time. Both of these have been huge for me.
I thought saying “no” would be difficult but everyone I’ve said it to have been great and I’d say my relationships with these people have been strengthened as a result!
It’s a journey, not a destination
This is most important thing to bear in mind, whether in improving your health or running a marathon.
Once you have that goal in mind, you quickly forget about it and focus on the journey to get there. What are the day to day tasks you have to do? What’s the most important task each day you want to get done?
It’s not about trying to do everything perfectly as that doesn’t work.
You will get days where you don’t do everything you planned, or do them well, but that doesn’t mean you failed.
You learned.
When you fail, you’ll instantly know what you can do next time to get a better outcome. If you do that, and succeed from the lesson you learned, did you even fail?
What I’m finding is that some of the steps I’m taking to help me recover are finding me, not the other way around.
The biggest thing, has been going to the beach at St Andrews on Fridays. I’ve been invigilating at High School exams just now and a couple of weeks ago, I finished around lunchtime on the Friday and I felt inspired to drive the extra distance to go to the beach.
I had a run along the beach followed by a dip in the sea then went for an ice cream before coming home again. This has been amazing!
It’s reminded of holidays when I was a kid and enjoying some simple pleasures.
The great thing has been escaping the trappings of time. When you’re at the beach and having fun, you pay no attention to time.
Conclusion
A lot of the lessons I've learned and actions I've taken are actually things I've recommended my clients to do. You'd think I'd listen to my own advice eh? We can all become complacent from time to time!
4 weeks on, a lot has changed. I feel so much better. There’s still a long way to go.
I’m enjoying putting myself first and deciding if things I’m being asked to do are going to help me get to where I want to be.
When you pause, re-evaluate the journey you’re on and start making better decisions that suit you, not that you feel you have to do, the best opportunities, the best people and the best work that brings out the best in you will find you, not the other way around.
