Warning - What follows is a short story of abject failure! The good news is learning from failure plays a critical role in gaining success. This story of failure is mine, the learning is ours…
In hindsight the writing was on the wall early, about four weeks ago the amount of stress in my life changed, here’s a view of how it started to pile up;
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We purchased a new house - BIG ticket stress item
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We started paying two mortgages - BIG ticket stress item
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We kicked off a renovation project with significant financial outlay - BIG ticket stress item
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My mother was diagnosed with Alzhiemers - BIG ticket stress item
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I continued upping my training load - BIG ticket stress item
During the four odd weeks of all this stress piling up I let my diet slip;
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I didn’t put enough good quality food into my body - BIG mistake
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I allowed my intake of fluids to drop - BIG mistake
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My good quality protein intake dropped off a cliff - BIG mistake
What happened next? My HRV (Heart Rate Variability) plummeted for eight days straight, a sure fire sign things were not good! How did I respond? I stopped exercising all together, another BIG mistake as regular exercise is key in maintaining my good mental health. Even if it’s just getting out for a walk every day.
Where did I fail? I didn’t recognise the lifestyle stressors that were piling up and didn’t adjust. I should have controlled what I could have easily, training load and diet. If I had done this chances are I wouldn’t have ended up in the little hole that I did.
Good news is I used some ‘Black Box Thinking’ to learn from my latest failure. Next time you fail don’t just sweep it under the carpet. Embrace it, learn and don’t make the same mistake again. I’m pretty sure you’ll increase your chances of success.
Recommended Read: Black Box Thinking written by Matthew Syed.
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