How to own 2021… and have fun doing it!

Firstly, what do I mean when I use the term ‘own 2021’? Good question SF… haha.

To ‘own’ something in this context, means to take control of the situation and get it done… ‘own it’.

You’ve heard me get on my soap box enough about being consistent with your approach, and the importance of creating a sustainable routine, so I’ll try stay on track. But, your first port of call should be just that, creating an attainable, sustainable schedule. Not sure how to roll there? Easy, work with one of our coaches, they are pros at designing customised schedules with your best interest at heart, plus, ya know, accountability sure does help. Or have a flick through the blog section, I’ve written about that a few times. The fact that almost all of our coaching staff work with a coach themselves, says how valuable it is to work with a coach. If you know, you know, am I right?

Back to owning it.

In the beginning, creating your routine should be about simply ‘getting into a routine’, and finding the best fit scenario for you, and your lifestyle i.e. finding a good blend of balance, and sacrifice where it needs to happen. It’s a fallacy to think you can do it all and be 100% happy with every aspect of your life all at once… good luck with that. With big hairy goals, comes sacrifice (not forever), but if you want to go all in on something, then it needs to take precedence before other things, and therefore, as coach Lise would say “where focus goes, energy flows”. I love this and often think about divvying up my energy bucket between all of the things, so I don’t burn the candle too hot. So, firstly, sit down with the most important people in your life and discuss what it is you are looking to achieve, and what commitment it takes, so you can have the peace of mind that your immediate support network are all in, or not (in which case you might have to re-tweak your personal endurance goals).

Create your routine, and make it all about sticking to the routine like a hungry wolf. Once you have dialled your routine, then you can set about tweaking and working on the finer areas within your routine. You and/or your coach will have talked about the goals on the line, and the things requiring attention (limiters) along the journey. I guess we could call this ‘owning the big picture’… understanding what it is you are working towards, and having this to return to and remind yourself of if you’re easily side-tracked like me and need that redirection back on topic.

Big picture goals are set. Now let’s talk about owning the days. I’m willing to throw a small fortune on the table here and bet that we can all agree, if we sleep in, and tell ourselves we’ll do the session later, more often than not, life dumps a whole bunch of unexpected stuff in our way, and it doesn’t get done. Therefore, owning the mornings are your lifeblood to owning the day/s. Sleep in at your peril. Unless of course you really do need the extra zzz’s. Absolutely no sympathy here if you decide staying up late binging the last 3 episodes of Schitt’s Creek and cut 90 mins of your sleep. Either you own the morning, or the day own’s you.
How do I own the morning? Another great question 😉

• Go to bed at a reasonable time. The simplest, performance enhancing tool at your disposal, is sleep, especially where growing things (stronger muscles and minds) is concerned. How do I go to bed early enough? Get up early, yep, they work hand in hand.
• Get up early – as mentioned above, working together so very nicely indeed, getting up at sparrow’s fart is a sure fire way to feel tired at the finish of the day. Voila. Make a point of getting up early three mornings in a row and I guarantee you, you will have no trouble falling asleep. Unless you decide to smoke a few redbull’s with dinner or something counterproductive like that.
• Eat the good stuff. Leafy greens and all the colours of the rainbow in vegetables. You know it and I know it. We can’t really eat too many vegetables. Marry that with good amounts of quality protein (super important to be eating plenty of protein for growth/repair etc) and good fats. Hydrate well according to the conditions too.
• Limit screen time in the first couple of hours of the day and the last 1-2 before sleeping. A sure fire way to be unproductive or start the day like a zombie is to spend it giving your thumb a workout on the scroll. All those socials will still be there on your lunch break, heaven forbid. There’s a sneaky feature on your phone that let’s you know once you’ve spent a certain amount of time on socials… part of owning your day/s could very well be about controlling this aspect of your life too. Perhaps every time you go to have a cheeky scroll and see what old mate’s dog had for breakfast, give yourself a quick slap and pick up a book, or eat a carrot whilst going for a 5-10 minute walk outside. Hell, tell your boss you have ADHD and a 5 min walk every 45 mins is part of your therapy… works for me 😉
• Side note: I have read about alter egos before, and more recently listened to a Tim Ferris podcast where the guest spoke about how we have many different ‘parts’ (of our personality). I like this concept, especially when it comes to self talk and being empathetic to our various ‘parts’. Remember, we are only human, and prone to lapse into spontaneous bouts of day dreaming, give yourself permission to dream (for a little bit) and then bring your focus back. Or like me, as Tony Robbins often says, “change your state”… I take this as go for a 5 min walk or do some core work. Get blood flowing somewhere in the body and this helps bring focus back to the mind. For me, there’s a few parts I can be more empathetic to, and rather than be frustrated with bouts of laziness/day dreaming/tangents etc, I can let it be and harness that for good. Productive, deep work and focus, needs training, and training takes consistent practice, and a lot of patience and self-empathy along the way.

 
Getting the gist of the splattering of what it means to ‘own the day/year’? Clear as mud as always.
Bring it back to the KISS principle, and Keep It Simple Scotty. Slow down to go fast, breathe, focus your attention on the things that are productive to accomplishing whatever it is your heart desires and get at it. Own it. Take control of the things within your control. Less scatter, more presence.

If we take another step back before all of the above, we need to remember why it is we do the things we do. At the very core of your goals and sport, needs to lie a level of enjoyment. For most of us, this might come in the form of being what we call type 2 fun (the feeling we get after it’s done). But there needs to be a certain level of love for the process along the way too. Once you’ve ticked the routine box, and you are in a good flow with your training, things become ‘easier’ to consistently stick with it, and the enjoyment and general feelings of being fit come more frequently too. As a general rule, and correct me here Ex Scientists, but it takes roughly 6 weeks to strengthen a muscle, about 6 months to rehab/strengthen a ligament/tendon, and probably 6 years (give or take a couple) to realise the true benefits of consistency in your craft, not to mention the mental strength that comes from experience (the brain is a muscle too remember). There in lies the difference between those who see the big picture and those who want a short-term magic pill.
 
There we have it.

1. Set some goals.
2. Create a routine.
3. Stay consistent.
4. Sleep.
5. Eat the good stuff.
6. Own the mornings.

 
Own 2021! As I touched on early in my ramblings, working with a coach has so many benefits to your growth as an athlete. If improved performance, community, health and longevity in the sport, and general knowledge of your sport is what you’re looking for, then join us and reap the rewards. Our coaching team are always looking to share, teach, support, push and see you flourish.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far… great focus 😉
 
Coach Scotty

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