Right as rain...how we can avoid self sabotage

As I pulled into the parking lot, decked out in my multi-colored spandex cycling kit, I was halfway through my bean burrito (an excellent pre-ride meal by the way) when I suddenly lost my appetite. The morning sun was quickly being enveloped by some ominous looking clouds…. cumulus, I think.

With the half burrito re-wrapped, I mustered the courage to get out of the car and begin my pre-ride routine. Bike out…tires pumped…lights on…shoes on…helmet on…that’s when I felt it. That first prophetic drop of rain right on my forearm. It was like a moment frozen in time as I stared at that solitary raindrop rolling off my arm. Slowly, but surely, more drops began to sporadically fall on and around me. It was at this very moment I had a decision to make.

Do I ignore those drops? “This is not happening; this is not happening…” Do I mount my two-wheeled steed and forge on, regardless of the elements?

Or…do I give in to the rapid-fire thoughts, rationalizations, and excuses racing through my head and pack it in?

More on that later

Something clicked inside my brain. I drowned out the noise for a fleeting moment, got onto my bike and started turning over the pedals.

As I traversed the sparsely populated streets of Orange County suburbia, I suddenly felt invigorated. The cool wind in my face, the smooth feel of the tires on the asphalt…it all felt right again. Right as rain. How could I have even hesitated to go on this training ride? I mean, cycling is one of my great passions in life. I love the feeling of being on my bike and it truly represents a Zen-like therapy for me.

Then, the rain came.

Fierce and furious, at least for the better part of ten minutes. By the time I got to the turn-around point of the ride, I was soaked to the bone. Here come those pesky thoughts again…

“Why would you do this? Why not ride your trainer at home in the dryness of your garage? That is why you bought that thing in the first place anyway. Why are you putting yourself at risk? You know how dangerous it is to ride in the rain! Oh great…now I will probably get sick.”

Oftentimes, we are our own worst enemy. We can literally sabotage ourselves. Our brains are absolutely amazing machines that are still not fully understood by modern science. When we are facing a difficult challenge or obstacle, our brains immediately revert to “defense mode” or “fight or flight”. It is literally baked into our DNA. The brain reverts to the self-preserving process which manifests itself in rationalizations, justifications and excuses. It tells us all of the reasons why we should not do that thing that may cause us to suffer.

The great Viktor Frankl said “If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.”

There is great value in suffering, if we can simply open our hearts and minds to it. Unfortunately, we do not often realize it until the suffering is over. If we can simply “will ourselves” to put on those running shoes and step out the door, clip into those pedals and start riding, dive into that water and take a couple of strokes, all of the rationalizations, justifications and excuses fade away. By the time we are finished, the endorphins kick in and we enjoy a sense of accomplishment and gratitude…that natural reward.

On the way back to my car, I really paid attention to the sights and sounds around me, as opposed to the asphalt bike lane directly in front of me. I wanted to get my mind off of the feeling of soaking wet feet in soaking wet socks in soaking wet shoes and the inevitable blisters that were to come.

As I looked around, I noticed that I was not alone in my attempt to brave the elements. There was the utility pole repair man diligently fixing a busted power pole, the landscaping crew donned in miscellaneous types of rain gear, cutting, mowing and trimming, and the group of two dozen strawberry pickers scattered across the local grower’s farm filling their baskets with those gorgeous red beauties.

They didn’t seem fazed by the weather. They were out there, getting it done! No complaints, no excuses…at least not that I could hear. It reminded me that there are times in our lives (often actually) where things are not lined up perfectly. It is too cold, too windy, too hot, too humid, too “fill in the blank”. The reality is life is never perfectly lined up for us to take that meeting, finish that report or complete that project. If we wait for things to be perfect, we will be missing out on so much in life and our productivity will suffer overall.

Voltaire said, “The perfect is the enemy of the good” Waiting for perfection is a form of self-sabotage. We sacrifice so much progress in our lives waiting for the elusive perfect moment. If we are not careful, life will pass us by, and it will be too late. More often than not, we need to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and…go to work!

Sure, by the time I got back to my car, I was soaked. But I went to work and got it done. I was better off for the effort, felt an incredible sense of accomplishment and continued the virtuous cycle. We are faced with similar challenges in our workplaces every day. We can either think and talk ourselves out of the hard work…or we can just get started. If you need to complete a 3 page monthly report, start with the first line. If you need to create pitch presentation, just get the first slide done. Once we start moving, the inertia becomes our ally and things start to move in our favor. When we are at a standstill, we can fall prey to paralysis; waiting for that perfect moment, waiting for the stars to align.

As I put my cycling gear away and loaded my dirty, wet bicycle back into my car, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine, as if on cue. I felt the familiar fatigue in my quads and calves as I sat in the driver’s seat…a pain that signals success. I did it…. I got to work and got it done.

By the way, I only edited this article about 17 or 18 times before I published it. And it is still far from perfect. 

Oh wait…. I still have half of my burrito left!