Last Friday I went to check out a new gym and rediscovered that many simple truths can be found in everyday experiences.
I was surprised when I walked in. There weren’t dozens of people on loads of machines looking bored and miserable. This was a modest place, few mirrors, no sparkly machines, no nightclub music thumping out. And – here’s the thing – the people there were all smiling. Even the ones with sweat pouring off them. I had to go in.
After talking to the Personal Trainer for a short time, doing a few warm-ups, and my hammering the point that I was no Bear Grylls, we got into the session. He didn’t give me a run through of what was ahead. He simply said we would do a series of exercises and he would time me. Time me? I attempted a smile. I’m not sure I pulled it off.
The rowing, weights and squats it turned out, were the easy bits. The push-ups and sled pull finished me off. My heart was thumping. I was gasping for air. The water bottle was draining fast. My trainer had clearly missed the message or I had stumbled into a secret SAS training camp.
A few minutes later when I could actually speak again, he asked me how I thought I had gone. Too spent to put up any bravado I simply said I was amazed I had been able to finish at all. My brain had stopped worrying about failure and had simply focused on what needed doing.
Imagine my delight when he told me I had come in well under the time he had set me. Imagine my despair when he told me I had to do it all again. And faster this time. No chance, my brain said. No chance at all.
Immediately I started to focus my mind on the hardest bits and start worrying all over again. With perfect timing, he said two magic words to me. Slow down.
As I went through the circuit again he paced me, getting me to slow down my running, take a quick pause between each activity and remember to take on water as I went. My second time was even faster.
Don’t get me wrong – I was still tired the second time. But not only had I done the circuit twice when I seriously doubted I could do it at all. I had done it faster. Faster! And my recovery was much better this time round too.
6 lessons from the gym:
- Fully focus on the task at hand before moving on to the next one. Before you do, take a pause to reset and refocus.
- Pace yourself – life’s circuits just keep coming and you don’t always know how long they will be. Hold a bit in reserve until you see the summit – then throw yourself across it.
- Keep up the ‘fuel’ reserves. Don’t skip the things that keep you (and your brain) moving. Breakfast, lunch, water – been missing those lately?
- Have a buddy with you on the journey – your own personal trainer to help pace, motivate, and even save you from yourself when you need it.
- Sometimes its best not to know how hard something is before you start.
- You can achieve more than you ever thought possible when you least expect it.
With thanks to Scot Auty from the Results Room who reminded me how to slow down.
Photo Credit: Nathan Cowley
©Ann Braithwaite 2023
Ann Braithwaite guides leaders on how to use collaborative approaches to to pool collective brain power that build capacity for innovation and transformation in today’s complex world.