Over the last few months, I’ve talked a lot about making a plan to reach your goal. I talk about thinking of a goal, making a plan and how to get your plan from paper to reality. What happens when your plan, well doesn’t go as planned? Do you bend to reach your goals?
I understand: life happens, the unexpected things get thrown at you which kind of messes up your groove. Say you’ve been consistent with your workout regimen and all a sudden BOOM!
Your car breaks down and you miss your workout.
You’re frazzled, now you have to think about how you are going to get to your workout. Thoughts circle your mind:
-How will I get better?
-How can I make up for this?
-What are my coaches/trainers going to think?
It’s like when you’re sick [we know a lot of you are, it’s that time of year] and you never appreciate being able to breathe through your nose until it’s stuffy or runny and you’ve got tissues shoved in your nostrils. When you’re sick, you re-position to feel better. Not physically bending, although sometimes if you sit in certain positions it helps you breathe through a nostril. What I’m saying is that you do something out of the ordinary to get better. You take medicine, you sleep more, you take time off from work or school to get over your sickness. You’re bending your daily lifestyle to reach a goal. Sometimes when things don’t go as planned for your routine, you have to bend a little.
When we plan things, that’s what it is, a plan. It’s not set in stone and we don’t always follow it, it’s more of a guide to steer us in the direction we want to head.
Someone once said:
“If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan but never the goal.”
Our plans are amendable, but our goals should never be. We should never sell ourselves short or our dreams. If you want to go to a world’s championship then you should at least get to race at the championships. Adjust the way you get to your goal. If your plan goes a little awry that’s okay, remember what end result you are trying to achieve. Think about your goal, your dream or what your hopes.
You can’t turn back the clock to when you should have started on this journey to be the best you. You can start today to change the ending. The path you’re on now will be different if you decide to start something new and better for you today.
-Get to the next workout.
-Start tracking your nutrition.
-Put the phone away at 9 pm and get to bed.
-Be the first one to workout and the last to leave.
-Remember, champions are made when no one is watching.
Not all athletes start off when they’re young, some decide when they’re teenagers that this is what they want to do. This is their passion, this is their dream, this is what they want to do for the rest of their life. For example, Tim Duncan, you might know that name from the NBA, but did you know he didn’t start playing basketball until the age of 15. His aspirations were to be an Olympic level swimmer. He trained as a swimmer, was even gifted, but a natural disaster destroyed his training pool, which led him to switch sports. He was not great at first, but he kept on trying. He caught the attention of a few college scouts and ended up in the NBA. He played in the NBA for 19 years.
Is that what he planned or did he bend to reach his goals?
Tim Duncan’s story teaches us bending to reach your goals is essential. Life never goes as planned, so we have to bend and adapt along the way. His dream was to be a swimmer, but he became an NBA player. In a different way, he achieved his goal. He represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the basketball team. His plans changed as he grew up and started a whole new sport, it was unnatural for him. He persevered, he kept at it and achieved a goal of his. He had an amazing basketball career with many titles under his belt and still participated in the Olympics.
The big picture, know your goal and don’t let anything stop you. Bend when you must, but keep your eye on the prize. If you’re an athlete, think about getting that medal you want. If you’re just an average person trying to stay in shape, then keep on pushing yourself to get up and get to your workouts every day. If you find yourself in an unexpected situation, take a breath and know that you will get over this obstacle. If you fail at the obstacle, reflect, learn, and become better. Take it one step at a time and change your bend your plans to fit your new schedule. Life does not allow us to plan and execute our lives to the second of each minute, but we do have the chance to keep moving forward. To keep moving forward toward our aspirations. Sometimes, the odds are against us, but we have to defy them. Never give up even if you’ve got to take a roundabout way to get there.
Written by Kelly Chen, COR.