In life, most of us have plans. Some are more defined then others (1 year plans; 5 year plans; succession strategies; promotion targets) - others have dreams or ideas of what we would like to achieve 'one day'. These may be as simple as a bucket list, an outline of crazy one-offs that will deliver a sense of achievement and purpose to our lives to break up the normal day-to-day routine.
Within these plans, there may be one or two things that are really important. Goals we only get a chance to do once. Things we have decided to focus on and dedicate time, energy and resources to and make sacrifices to achieve the outcome we not only want, but what we think we are capable of. We may want to test ourselves with this goal, push ourselves further then what we have done before, challenge our body and mind to think or perform outside of its comfort zone. These goals are thrilling, intimidating, exciting, stressful and demanding. These are the ones that make our hearts race with anticipation, that fill our minds with nervous thoughts and which get us out of bed most mornings, excited to face the day.
Generally, we don't throw ourselves into this space with a contingency plan. Failure isn't considered, it's not an option. We'll work hard, be consistent, make sacrifices and get the outcome we expect. That's how things are supposed to work. In the whirl of excitement and progress and improvement, we don't allow ourselves (rightly so) to entertain negative thoughts of "what if I can't do this? what if I fail?"
So, when confronted with circumstances that challenge your goal, jeopardise your plans and derail your strategy, we often don't have strong coping mechanisms to respond. We have been so busy focussing on the positives, maintaining our trajectory towards our goal, celebrating our achievements that when a wall suddenly appears we have no brakes, crash straight into it, leaving ourselves in a crumpled mess.
"Obstacles are put in your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for"
How people respond to these situations is an interesting social exercise. I've personally observed that people's response largely depends on the confidence they have in themselves. I've seems some horrendous behaviour in a professional context, some heartbreaking stories in a sporting context and I've reflected on both recently to try and understand why people have reacted this way; could they have prepared themselves better? Can we rely on the mental strength we lean on during the times of competition to also help us through times when things just aren't going to our plan?
I do believe that challenges can present opportunity. These may not be immediately obvious; you may be so overwhelmed by the impact these challenges are having on your immediate goals - but, taking the time to put those thoughts to one side, these challenges can be used to develop other skills which can be equally, if not more, useful to your overall goal. Teaching yourself how to harness positivity, giving you opportunities to cross-skill, rest, recover, learn, read. Spend time with family and friends who have been neglected while you chase this dream, whatever it is. You may find that these experiences fill you with a different momentum, a different purpose that you can carry over into your goal once you return to it. Fresher, relaxed, focussed. You can't discount the impact that time can have to your overall objective.
We all read stories of burnout. Gifted geniuses, whether academic or athletic, pushing too far, going to hard and falling apart. Retiring from the very thing that initially brought them so much joy. As much as the dream and the goal is important and the competitor in you wants to succeed and wants to succeed well, you have to acknowledge why the challenges are presenting themselves and pay respect to that. The body is not invincible and it's not a machine that we can just oil every so often and keep churning through the motions. If we want it to respect our goals, we need to respect its needs.
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