In this episode I explore how self reflection can be SO powerful when you are getting towards the tail end of a training process.
Listen to the other episodes of this mini-series:
Listen to the Training For Trekking Podcast on: Or any other of your favourite podcast platforms! Episode Transcript: [0:00] All right, hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen. So in today's episode, we are covering episode number 19 of this 20-episode miniseries, which is 20 Lessons Learned Through 20 Weeks of Training. And today we are talking a little bit more about self-reflection. Now, self-reflection and the act of just sitting down and thinking about what's been good, what's been bad, what's been, you know, you've been accomplishing and all of that good stuff is so, so, so, so important at every stage of your training journey. You know, it's so valuable to do at the beginning of a process, when you're sitting down and really, really thinking about exactly why you're doing things. It's really valuable throughout a process where you can sort of sit down every week or every few days and just be like, hey, what's been good? What's been bad? What challenges am I facing? And all of that. And it's really, really, really valuable at the end of a process as well. Well, and today specifically what we're going to be talking about is self-reflection towards the end of a training journey and just how powerful it can be. [0:58] So let me tell you the story around where this came from and this particular episode came from. Now, the day of this story was the day of my event. So for 20 weeks, I'd been training my ass off pretty much to get ready for this event. I'd been dedicating so much time, so much energy, so much attention. I made so many sacrifices to get where I wanted to be. I've been training five, six days a week, doing multiple training sessions a day, being really strict on my diet, being, you know, not drinking, giving up social occasions, doing all of these things to get where I wanted to be for this particular event. This is where I was going to put my skills on the line, step in the ring and actually have a fight because this is a martial arts journey for myself. And ultimately, everything I've been leading up for was going to be determined and put on the line for ultimately about 10 minutes in the ring. [1:52] Now, on the day of the event, The trip from my home to the event was about 60 minutes. It was a little ways off. And basically, I wasn't going to drive there because I was like, you know what, in all honesty, after the event, I'm probably going to have a couple of drinks. I wasn't going out with my wife because she had something else on that day, which we just messed up our calendars. And, you know, there was lots of other fellow participants going out there, but I was like, in all honesty, I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to sit in a car and have to sort of chat with people because, you know, I'm thinking about this fine. So I was like, you know what, I'm going to get an Uber. So I got an Uber, they came, and I had a 60-minute drive ahead of me. And as I sat in the Uber, over these 60 minutes, I reflected on the last 20 weeks. I really, really, really thought back through the journey. I reflected on everything we had done, everything we'd been through, the highs, the lows, the things I struggled with, the things I learned. And then I thought about my whys. [2:52] Now as I said in I think episode number one of this mini-series I had some pretty deep reasons why I wanted to do this particular thing. You know on the surface level it was like hey this is something cool that'll get me fit, something I've wanted to do for a while or whatever maybe but deeper and deeper and deeper it was like ultimately I wasn't super confident in the performance of my body anymore. I was like you know what I feel a bit bit restricted in the things I want to jump into. So I was like, if I can do this, if I can survive this process, if I can actually get through this, which is such a rough type of sport, I'll be confident I can do anything. On top of that, looking towards the future, I was like, you know what? I don't want to be in five years, 10 years. When I have kids, I want to be able to just step into anything I want with them. I want to be confident the body's going to hold up, not be huffing and puffing and all of this stuff. I had some pretty deep reasons why I wanted to do this particular thing. [3:43] And as I sat in that Uber, driving to the event, and I reflected on these particular whys, these whys I had established very early on in the process, and I really thought about them, and I really thought about, have I accomplished these things? I felt really, really, really deep peace settle in. Because I had already proved all of those things to myself. I proved that my body was still capable of doing really, really cool things. I was confident in my body's capabilities. It had put through some crazy things during the process. I was in the best shape it had been in over a decade. I realized I could stick to a training program again when I was excited about things. I realized so many different things from myself. And I realized that even before the event, even before I actually tested all of this stuff out, put it on the line, in all honesty, I had accomplished everything I had set out to do. [4:48] When I realized this in the Uber over there, and I felt this massive sense of peace, as I said, It was an absolutely amazing feeling. It just took the pressure off this event in front of me, and it turned it into a bonus because I was sitting in that Uber. I was like, I'm happy. I'm stoked. This isn't an excuse to get out of the fight because I'm still going to do it. But I was like, you know what? I've done everything I've set out to do, and I'm really, really, really happy. I knew win, lose, or whatever happened, I had succeeded in the things that I set out for. [5:20] And it was an amazing feeling. Now, in the end, got to the event, eventually got in the ring. The event went really, really well. I won my fight. I had a great time. And while that was amazing, and I was really, really stoked with that, in all honesty, I was super happy before that. [5:37] Now, self-reflection is such a powerful thing. And for me, it was so important in that moment just to be known and remind myself exactly what I've been striving to do, and if I'd accomplished that or not. And for you listening, it can be such a powerful thing. Because if you've been training for a big adventure, if you've been leading up to a big hike, a big adventure, a big particular date, please don't forget to reflect back on your whys. Don't forget to reflect back on your journey. Don't forget to reflect on why you're doing this, what you're getting out of this, what's been good, what's been bad. I strongly recommend this, to do this before you even start hiking. So if you're going on a big trip, do this like I did. You don't have to do it on the exact day, but at the end of your training process, reflect. Just think, why did I set out to do this? Have I accomplished any of these things that I wanted to do? If so, awesome. If not, if you need to prove yourself on the trail and there's a massive reason why there, that's fine, but still still do this self-reflection. Now do this again when you're actually on the trail. Do this self-reflection. Whether it's if you're doing a big day hike, halfway through the hike. Whether you're doing a multi-day or a multi-week, one day on the trail or whatever it may be. Do this self-reflection again. Ask yourself, why was I doing this? [7:03] Why am I accomplishing that? Have I reached these things? And then again, do it afterwards. After the actual event, when it is done, self-reflect again. [7:13] It's such a valuable thing. And when you're going through this process and you are self-reflecting and you're thinking back to all the things you've done, all the things you've accomplished, all the barriers you've overcame, all the changes you've made, make sure you give yourself credit for everything that you've done. Because we are our own worst enemies in regards to the things that go wrong, the things that are bad, we hone in on them. We we absolutely obsess over them. But the things that are good, we very rarely give ourselves acknowledgement. So if you've proved to yourself that, you know what, actually I can change my nutrition and I can get away from certain habits and I can actually be a little bit more diligent on my nutrition, give yourself credit for that. If you've proved to yourself that, you know what, actually I can get up out of bed every morning, I can fit in a little bit of exercise before work, Give yourself credit for that. If you've had an ache or pain and you've made a change on that, give yourself credit for that. Every single win that you've had through this process, think about it. Give yourself credit. And then on top of that. [8:20] If there were things which could have improved on. Identify them. Don't shy away from them, but identify it. Be like, you know what, actually, you know, I was pretty good, but in all honesty, I realized that my sleep was pretty average. Or I was pretty good and, you know what, actually, I really struggled at social occasions and I ended up eating well for six days in a week and I'd absolutely binge at a social occasion. Or I was really good at, you know, maybe doing cardio and hiking, but maybe I wasn't super consistent with my strength training or whatever it may be. Identify the things that maybe could be improved on next time and then be aware of them the next time around. If you book yourself on another adventure, if you book yourself another big goal, just be aware so in the future you can be like, you know what, I'm going to make a little bit of a difference there. For myself, when I was doing this self-reflection, the most of the stuff that I'd set out to do, I'd accomplished. But when I was reflecting after the event, I was like, you know what, I probably could have had a little bit bit more cardio fitness. I probably could have worked on this a bit more. I probably could have worked on that a bit more. And those things, if I choose to do something like this again, I know I'm going to work on those a little bit more. As much as I was super happy with how everything ended up, I knew there can be improvements and I'm aware exactly where I need to improve. [9:32] So when it comes down to this type of thing, self-reflection is such a powerful tool. I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend you doing this at every stage of your training journey. journey. Do it in the beginning weeks as you're figuring things out. Do it regularly throughout, just check in with yourself, how things are going, what's been good, what's been bad, and then do this at the end, before, during, and after your event, after your hike, after your adventure. And good or bad, it's such a powerful thing. So with that being said, I think that's enough on this subject today. I hope that makes sense. I hope that helps a few people, and I really do hope a few people put this into action. So thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you soon. Bye.
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AuthorRowan is an online personal trainer who specialises in training for hiking and mountaineering. He helps get them fit, strong and resilient so they can conquer every adventure. Archives
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