Habits are Habits: What Kind Do You Choose?
The process of training for big goals reveals the same thing each time: a consistent routine develops over time and that routine is what leads to success.
Habits are habits.
When chasing a big goal, especially a fitness goal, you simply choose habits that benefit you.
I’m in the process of training for my second Ironman. The bike training routine this time around—training in a flatter area—looks a bit different. Thursdays always start at 4:20am, followed by coffee, food, and procrastinating to help my body wake up. Around 5:45am, I muster the courage to write my workout on the whiteboard as I’m reminded that “I just have to start!” I never want to. But once I do, I go into auto-pilot: headphones go in, bike gets set up on the trainer, my nutrition and hydration are laid out, and then I put on my training gear. By 6:15am all I have left to do is “just press play.” I start biking and let the workout unfold as it unfolds—no expectations.
After 2 hours, when the workout ends, I know that I’ve put in the necessary work for the day.
The routine took time to get into.
It didn’t happen overnight.
Developing habits that benefit us takes time. But, the reward is great: improved wellbeing and incremental progress toward achieving peak performance.
I’ve seen the same thing happen with those I coach.
Those who want change in their life—to tell a better story—set a hard goal. A goal so big that it scares them. And, as a result of the fear, a consistent routine naturally develops as they learn that adherence to the day-to-day habits is the only way to accomplish the task at-hand.
And the most rewarding part to watch as a coach is that the habits that develop are, indeed, creating a better story in their life.
The habits took time to figure out, but the process starts to become more and more automatic.
Pick a hard goal. One that scares you so much that it forces your hand at dedicating daily attention to your wellbeing.
Stop riding the emergency brake and use habits and momentum to help you achieve things you’ve always known that you could achieve but were too damn scared to go after.