6 Tips on Dealing with Setbacks While Chasing Dreams

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What was supposed to be my first triathlon last week didn’t happen because of a nasty ear infection. It sucked big time and really was a big dent is my motivation.

It’s been 10 days but and luckily I have the opportunity to comeback with a vengeance on Saturday when I’ll enter my first Oly. Feeling good, stoked and curious about the event, the experience and my performance.

I reflected on this unexpected setback (me not being able to participate in my first triathlon) and drew some lessons which I want to share with you guys.

Be mentally prepared

Know that when you are chasing a dream or a goal that the road isn’t going to be paved all the time. It’s going to get tough and bumpy. Be prepared to deal with the setback and don’t let them throw you off.

Be angry

You trained hard. You sacrificed your body, family, friends and weekends. And now the final piece of the puzzle doesn’t fit. And that’s tough. Give yourself time to feel a bit crap and be angry about the situation. Don’t expect from yourself that you can shift gears on the spot and focus on the next event / goal in a sec.

Analyze - Learn - Adjust

What went wrong. Was it you, your training, preparation, nutrition (all physical aspects) or was it your mind state, the pressure (mental aspects). Those are internal aspects. But what about the outside: weather conditions, competitors, mechanical failures? Which of these variables can you influence and which you can’t?

Analyze the situation, extract valuable info, learn your lessons and adjust your training.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
- Dalai Lama

Don’t over-analyze

Once you did the analyzing stop. Don’t torture yourself by re-running the same movie all the time.

Take it easy

Trust me on this one. The last thing you want to do is rush into the next best thing. Chances are this will only lead to more disappointment.

Take your time to work out a plan, set a new goal, make your preparations, do your training and…

Come back with a vengeance

Go Bruce Willis on it. Yipikayee…!

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Be inspired by greatness

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It’s great to support others. To cheer for them. To applaud for them. To wish them the best of luck. To follow them during their quest. To be proud of them. To want to see them succeed. To celebrate their wins and to share their losses.

But please be inspired by the greatness of others and let it be your motivation to want to perform on that next level. Don’t be the sucker who only observes but doesn’t take action.

Visualize that you’re not the one who’s rooting but you’re the one they’re rooting for.

To watch greatness and history happen is nice. To be the one who’s doing it is brilliant.

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7 inspiring quotes and lessons from Inglourious Basterds

I watched the amazing movie Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino a couple of weeks ago. It’s a great, exciting movie which tells to story of… well.. Jews vs. Nazi’s. (I’m not writing the plot here, I you want to know more about the movie then check out the trailer or IMDB)

The whole movie is based on complex and intense dialogues  and possesses some great one-liners.

So hereby I present you an overview of the 7 inspirational quotes and lessons (in business and life) from Inglourious Basterds.

1.

Quote:

Adolf Hitler: [slamming his hand on a table] Nein nein nein nein nein nein!

Lesson

Learn to say no.

2.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: That’s what I like to hear. But I got a word of warning for all you would-be warriors. When you join my command, you take on debit. A debit you owe me personally. Each and every man under my command owes me one hundred Nazi scalps. And I want my scalps. And all y’all will git me one hundred Nazi scalps, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Nazis. Or you will die tryin’.

Lesson:

Make a plan. Take action. Commit to your action.

3.

Quote:

Major Dieter Hellstrom: That was the sound of my Walther pointed right at your testicles.
Lt. Archie Hicox: Why do you have a Luger pointed at my testicles?
Major Dieter Hellstrom: Because you’ve just given yourself away, Captain. You’re no more German than that scotch.

Lesson:

Authenticity rules. If you’re not authentic, it will kill you.

4.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: That’s Sergeant Donny Donowitz. But you might know him better by his nickname… the Bearrrr Jewwwwww… Now, if you heard of Aldo the Apache, you gotta heard about the Bearrrrrr Jewwww…

Lesson:

It’s all about word of mouth and reviews.

5.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: Well I speak the most Italian, so I’ll be your escort. Donowitz speaks the second most so he’ll be your Italian cameraman. Omar speaks third most, so he’ll be Donny’s assistant.
Pfc. Omar Ulmer: But I don’t speak Italian.
Lt. Aldo Raine: Like I said, third best. Just keep your fuckin’ mouth shut. In fact why don’t you start practicing, right now

Lesson:

Know your strengths and weaknesses.

6.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: [the Basterds are breaking Sgt. Stiglitz out of jail] Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz?
[Sgt. Stiglitz nods]
Lt. Aldo Raine: Lt. Aldo Raine. These are the Basterds, ever heard of us?
[Sgt. Stiglitz nods]
Lt. Aldo Raine: We just wanted to say we’re a big fan of your work. When it comes to killing Nazis…
Nazi Guard: Uggghhhhaahhh… [one of the Basterds shoots him]
Lt. Aldo Raine: …I think you show great talent. And I pride myself on having an eye for that kind of talent. But your status as a Nazi killer is still amateur. We all come here to see if you wanna go pro.

Lesson:

Work hard and you will be rewarded.

7.

Quote:

Lt. Aldo Raine: You probably heard we ain’t in the prisoner-takin’ business; we in the killin’ Nazi business. And cousin, Business is a-boomin’.

Lesson:

Find a niche and become an expert. Even better; become the expert.

Love it? Hate it? Looking forward to your feedback.

(The quotes were derived from IMDB.)

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Discover your natural resources… and strike gold!

Definition of natural resources

- from Wikipedia

Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. Natural resources are derived from the environment. Many of them are essential for our survival while others are used for satisfying our wants.

Find your natural resources

Most of them lay well hidden and deeply buried beneath the surface. Untouched and in complete rest. So don’t expect your quest to be easy.

You must create the circumstances in which they show so you can discover yours and derive them from your environment. They’re essential for your survival and used for satisfying your wants.

Okay, you won’t die if you don’t go looking or find them. But if you want to know what’s your true motivation, your strengths, what separates you from others and makes you smile then…. Digg in and strike gold!

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Sacrifice vs. Reward; looking for the short term pay off from long term commitment

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The easiest thing to do is to start. In the beginning you’re motivated, eager and can’t wait for the change of lifestyle. You’re interested and soaking up knowledge while reading books and blogs. In the first few days and weeks the rapid progress keeps you going and motivated. And then, as Seth Godin has branded it, The Dip happens. The Dip is the part where it’s not new anymore and where the rapid and easy progress you were booking is taking more time and getting more difficult. You must invest a lot more hours to get the same increase in skill… and that sucks.

This is also the part where most people quit. After the initial burst of enthusiasm and skill they get bored and realize that the easy part is over. The fun part is over and it’s very temping to call it a day. The smart thing however is to stick (if you have choosen the right art to master) and to make change happen.

Now the good part: now you know that this moment is coming. The Big Bad Dip is looking for you. So be ready and when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Read on to find how you can ‘easily’ cross The Dip.

As stated before in 6 Reasons To Take It Slow On A New Adventure, one of the most essential steps, if not the most important, in completing your goals is to stay motivated during the process. If you want to enjoy honing your skills and reaching your goals you’ve got to stay motivated.

Motivated training = Fun training

The question is how do you keep yourself motivated in the short term so you can complete your long term goals. How do you increase the short term pay off so you can achieve long term commitment. The first question one should ask now is: What is motivation?

You could argue that one is motivated when the perceived reward exceeds the perceived sacrifice / investment. Both element, investment and rewards, can be intrinsic (i.e. time,  pleasure) and extrinsic (i.e. money). So how can you maintain motivation after the drop-off which you will encounter shortly after the start a.k.a. The Dip?

Lower the initial investment

Over the course of a year I might be investing €4.000 in equipment, food and training; money I don’t have at this moment. I will be investing hundreds hours of training to get ready for the Ironman; time I don’t have at this moment.

Don’t set up high fences but start frugal and small. If you start running you don’t need new shoes, a personal trainer, fancy clothes, a GPS watch and more. Just start running, build momentum and take it step by step. In stead of watching re-runs of Lost, or TV in general, spend those hours training. I promise you will get a lot more in return.

Make sure your initial investment and effort are manageable, bite-size chunks.

Shift the focus

It is good to have a clear view off the big picture (complete the IronMan) but that shouldn’t be your focus on the short term. I’ve only completed a quarter of a marathon 3 months ago. Yet I am supposed to finish an IronMan in a year time. At this moment that looks like a near impossible task.

Shift your focus to the short term and see what you have accomplished and what milestones you can accomplish in a small period of time. Celebrate those small victories and cherish those achievements.

Increase the outcome

Don’t shoot for the moon the first time. Set deliberate, small milestones and celebrate. Every time you achieve a small, but new, goal celebrate and dance like noone is watching.

Try a different view

Stress the fact that you’re not spending your time / money / effort / energy at this project. You’re investing it in a higher cause.

Apply these methods and hold on to the momentum you’re building after the initial start. It’s a flywheel; the beginning is hard, but when it starts spinning you’ll be amazed by the effortless power.

An essential part of your strategy should be how to keep your self motivated during the process.

Enjoy!

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6 reasons to take it slow on a new adventure.

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Okay, you set your goals and you’re ready to change the world. To shock it. To be amazing. Ready to change your world. Your habits. Your methods. Your life.

I saying you should slow down. Take control and put yourself in slow motion. Don’t rush yourself, head down, into it. But relax and take small, but deliberate, steps towards your goal.

The last couple of weeks I embarked on a quest to become an IronMan and I want to share some key learnings with you guys. Faults I made (for you) so you won’t have to make them.

Hereby I present to you the 6 reasons to take it slow on a new adventure (based on my own experience).

Get adjusted

Don’t ask to much from yourself the first times you take on a new challenge. Give yourself and your body time to adjust to your new life style. This point affects both your physical en mental world. You spend days / months / years building up a habit and it’s very difficult to break the mold radically and to start over. Define your quest, timeline, set milestones, and gradually transform yourself into the defined role. This shouldn’t take months; a sense of urgency is necessary. Your change shouldn’t be radical, but should cover a natural flow to a new stage and style.

Personal experience
I’m taking on running, bicycling and swimming all at once and it’s just too much. Although it’s very tempting to do it all in once I’m noticing that it isn’t the way. I must take it easy and let my body adjust before shifting my focus to another element.

Adjust your patterns

This is based on two principles: you learn by doing and the law of diminishing returns. In the first steps it’s relative easy to grow, learn and progress. By acting upon your goal you will see significant results for the limited time you spend upon your task. In this first stage is critical to play, explore and adjust to find out what works for you. Try to have an open mind and to think out of the box. Later on in this process you will find that it is much harder to break with your routine then in the beginning.

Personal experience
It’s not only training for the IronMan that’s take a bite out of me. I’m learning that I’ve got pay more attention to eating and rest. Both aspects I didn’t really take in consideration when I started. Eat more and better. Train hard, but also take the time to recover. These are elements I have to explore and figure out what works for me.

Leave yourself wanting more

Don’t go all out from the start. Relax and enjoy. Stretch the experience and don’t overdo it. When you eat your favorite meal everyday it won’t take long before it isn’t your favorite anymore. It’s the same with training; build in deliberate moments of rest, try to pace the change and you will find yourself eager to perform. Take it easy and enjoy the ride. Don’t push yourself to the max every time. Build in light and short sets. If you do this you will look forward to each training and not only those in the first months.

Personal experience
Couple of days ago I went out on a run, just a short run of 7,5 which took me 38:38. I wanted more, I wanted to run more then 10km, but I didn’t. Now I felt good, energized and looked forward to the next time working out.

Read

Will Smith said it all: running and reading are the keys to life …. There’s been millions and millions, billions and zillions of people that has live all before of us. There’s no new problem you can have, with your parents, your school, with a bully, with anything. There’s no problem you can have that someone hasn’t all ready solved and wrote about in a book.

Personal experience
While I first thought that I wouldn’t read much into the subject, I’m taking back my words after the first weeks. You want to read more about others, their methods, achievements and struggles. There is so much knowledge and experience available; it’s a shame and a bit foolish if I wouldn’t learn from it.

Stay healthy

This should be your starting point for all the changes you want to make in your life. If you take it slow from the start you learn what your body and mind is capable of; its strengths and its weaknesses. You will explore, define and sometimes stretch your boundaries. If you don’t take it slow, there’s a pretty good change you are going to get yourself hurt.

Personal experience
Three weeks ago I started working out on the bike. After just 2 short rides I overdid it and rode 130km in one day. The following 2 weeks I was bothered with a sore and irritated knee which prevented me from training or otherwise progressing. It was a major set back in my training schedule and a severe demotivator. This brings me to my next point.

Stay motivated

For lots of people it is a great challenge to stay motivated if they do something new like pick up a new sport, write a blog or change a habit. If you follow the points as stated above you will create conditions which will facilitate your success. By taking small, but successful and enjoyable, steps you will create a positive momentum which helps you not to only begin, but also the take the next essential steps.

Personal experience
To begin something is the easy part, to hold on for the whole ride is the difficult part. It’s only been a couple of weeks but I had my struggles (I didn’t knew the above). I’ve set the bar high and I’m not living up to my standard, I want to go harder, faster and be stronger. I want to train harder and longer. I aimed high, but I’ve learned to set and celebrate small milestones. Your training is also a marathon (actually an IronMan) and not a sprint.

Practice, Explore, Adjust, Discover, Read, Learn.

Slow down, stay healthy and ENJOY!

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