Friday Tri: Analyzing What Went Wrong

This week, I was having a bit of a block about going to the pool. This is weird, because I was for many years exclusively a swimmer and it feels the most natural and most calming for me of just about anything I do. Nonetheless, I had had a series of bad workouts in the pool recently and I didn’t want to go.

So I sat down with myself and tried to think of what I could do to make going to the pool just a little easier. I decided that I needed to bring something to drink and probably some calories, so that meant Gatorade. Then I also decided that I was going to take it easy and put in quite a bit of kickboard yards because I can always breathe then.

These may seem like simple changes, but they made a big difference. I didn’t hate the swim workout. I liked it. And I came away thinking that I need to head to the pool more often. But it has also left me thinking about how often I avoid doing something because I had a bad experience last time—without just sitting down to figure out how to do it better this time.

If you hated your last workout at the gym, analyze it. Was it because you didn’t eat breakfast? Or because you did? Was it because you didn’t have anyone to help motivate you? Was it because you hated the instructor of the class you were in? Was it because you did too much too soon?

Write down what you did wrong and what you are going to do to fix it next time. And then see how that changes your attitude about going back to the gym.

Did you try signing up for a race and you didn’t like it? Maybe you don’t like racing competitively, but maybe there are other parts of a race that you do like. What could you do to make it more interesting for you? Family waiting on the sidelines, cheering for you? A planned treat afterward? Buying yourself a medal?

Do you need a trainer to get you going? Do you need to workout in the middle of the day because you don’t want to interrupt family time? Do you need to hire a babysitter to get out? Or buy the proper equipment? Don’t just give up if you don’t have the money right now. Make a plan to get it. Work toward what you want, and you’ll stop avoiding things that you want to do, but are too hard to get to.

The same principal works as a writer. If you are avoiding sitting down and getting things done, figure out why it is. I’m not sure I believe most people are inherently lazy. Maybe you’re not sitting down because you need more quiet. Maybe you need to let yourself write badly. Maybe you need to bribe yourself with chocolate and other goodies by your computer. I don’t know what will work for you, but you do.