Life is not like a box of chocolates

I'm not saying Forrest Gump got it wrong, but I do think that there are better analogies. I think life is like riding a bike, and this is why....

I'm currently training for the last Triathlon I'll ever do. I just decided one day that I was getting a bit too old for it to be fun anymore and so I'm stopping before I start hating it. This is besides the point.

Whilst?training, there's a quick little 20KM route I often do at lunch time mid-week. It takes about 39 minutes (ish) and is a great way to break up the day when you're working from home.

Yesterday I did the route after work for a change. It was a beautiful sunny summer's evening, and as my race is only a few days away I deliberately took it very easy.

When I looked at Strava, as all good cyclists do (afterall, if it isn't on Strava, it doesn't count), I couldn't help notice the vast difference in my stats.

Cycling flat out, that 39 minute bike ride gave me an average power output of 209 watts. Doing the same ride in 50 minutes gave me an average power output of 137 watts.

That meant I had to work 52% harder to go 22% faster. My heart had to work 30% harder. And that got me thinking. This is kinda like life in general.

At work, to get small improvements, it doesn't necessarily require small amounts of effort. Sometimes you have to work incredibly hard to gain little wins. Does that mean it isn't worth it?

I think there are two types of people.?

Type A focusses on the amount of effort involved. They weigh up how much harder it'll be against the gain they'll get, and decide it isn't worth the effort. It's disproportionate.

Type B focuses on the improvement. They see an improvement, understand what that could signify, see it's achievable with some hard work, and off they go. They don't care if it's disproportionate, or even think that it is.

I think sometimes a lot of us have a bit of Type A and Type B, but there are a few pure Type A's and pure Type B's. These purists will either always be left behind, or always be leading the front of the pack.

It all comes down to what we choose to focus on, and that is almost always within our own control.

What type do you want to be?