Focus on What's Ahead

I consider myself an intermediate mountain biker. In all my riders, I focus on new things to get better and to build a stronger skill set. Mountain biking is such a sport that it constantly makes your head work too in a way that you can relate to life. In each of my rides, I come up with a new ways of improving myself by creating phrases that I can repeat constantly as I am riding. And in most of the cases, these phrases can be used for life.

Here is my most recent one: "Focus on what's ahead not right in front". If you ride, you probably know why this phrase would be useful but for those of you who might not be riders, let me explain.

The moment you focus on what's in front of your front wheel you are already too late to react to it. As a result it becomes this panic save or knee-jerk reaction or sudden stop in the momentum that you worked so hard to build. However, when you focus on what's ahead along your path, you can create a strategy and plan your reaction when you reach to that rock or when you make it to that tree branch or when you need to cross that super narrow bridge. Now don't you think this is pretty much how we can see it in life too? Without going into too much of a philosophical view, if we focus on what is coming up and not exactly what is happening at the moment, we can definitely be more prepared for "now".  Don't take me wrong, I am totally on board with "living the moment" and be open to surprises of each day. But if we have a way to get ready on what we already know then I kind of don't mind that either. Here is a quick example from my work life - I am booked with meetings from morning to night. If I only focus on getting through the day without knowing what is coming up during the rest of the week, I will probably be more burned out than I am right now. On the contrary, when I know my whole week of meetings I can see which ones are related and strategize accordingly so that I don't get caught off guard.

Well let's apply this to a work out regimen. I actually won't talk about setting a goal. What I will talk about is very similar to my meeting-full week. Look ahead in your calendar to see what you have planned for the week or month. That way you can plan your work outs accordingly, instead of thinking that you can somehow workout once you get home or before you leave for work. That thinking of "I'll workout somehow" then repeats everyday and you might easily end up with a week of no-workout.

When I bike, I know that there will always be obstacles. My goal is to be better prepared for those by looking ahead and pedal strong to get better.

Have fun selecting a smooth path and a big high five once you get through the obstacle! Meanwhile don't hesitate to let me know how I can help you with your workouts so that they actually happen. :)