Staying the Course

Welcome to the first edition of the new Daily Reset newsletter in which I'll share advance content from my new book until release on the 6th December. The Kindle version of the book is now on pre-sale here and paperback review copies will be available from next week. PM me if you'd like one. You can also listen to the introduction and other reflections on the writing of the book in the latest episode of the Chief Wellbeing Officer podcast here.

This week we're sharing two of the 366 nudges in the book which align with the theme of Staying the Course. With the London Marathon making a welcome return this weekend we look at four life-lessons we can learn from running a marathon (and the very best of luck to anyone running!) We then look at the powerful story of one of the world's best trial cyclists, Danny MacAskill and his approach to learning which shows how failure is a link in the chain to success, not an outcome in itself (thanks to Vlad Gheorghiu for that conceptualisation). Thanks for reading and see you next week for more content and news on The Daily Reset.

It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint (nudge #212/366)

The marathon is considered the ultimate running experience but I never truly understood until I experienced it myself. There are four things I’ve learned that I believe can be applied to life too.

Keep calm when things aren't going well: In the marathon, no matter how well prepared you are, you will always have that ‘bad patch’. The key is not to panic, assess why it is happening and action accordingly. Is it a physical injury? Is it fuel-related? Is it simply mental? Life too. Here’s the key thing – that bad patch will pass. As Charles Swindoll remarked,

“10% of life is what happens to you, the other 90% is how you react to it.”

A good spell will come, be ready: As a flip-side to the above there will be times when you have ‘good legs’. Such energy may come from the crowd or food you eat. It could be a following wind or downhill stretch of the course. In both a marathon and my daily life I am attentive to these good moments. Just as important is that I always believe there to be a good moment to come.

Fuel consistently: Drinking and eating while running at pace isn’t easy to do, but it is essential for the marathon. The energy you take in at an early stage of the race is used later. Many of us go through life too at a fast pace, so much so that we forget about taking that energy in.

Construct your own reality: What’s the big thing you hear from friends who have run the marathon? Watch out for hitting the wall! You’re dead at 30km! The science supports this but I would guess the majority of who suffer are accepting other people’s reality. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Break through the wall. Always question the ‘facts.’ Find your own truth in different parts of your life.

Trying New Things (nudge #331/366)

Danny MacAskill is an accomplished mountain biker from the Isle of Skye in Scotland. He is one of the world's best in trials biking – where the cyclist faces different obstacles without setting their feet on the ground. He frequently produces entertaining and inspiring video clips of his biking and is probably best known for The Ridge - a jaw dropping ride across the Cuillin Mountains in Skye.

I'm one of his 1.8 million followers on Instagram. He is not only one of the world’s best at what he does but also funny and humble. A hallmark of his videos is that he doesn’t just show the perfect run or stunt, but all of the failed attempts that lead up to that one successful execution.

He is constantly trying new things, and that often means he falls of his bike. All he does is smile and go again.

One example in particular stands out for me.

He rode his bike across a metal chain that connects two blocks of concrete at a Blackpool beach. The chain is significantly narrower than the bike wheel and is perhaps four-five bike lengths. The total stunt lasts around ten seconds.

On the post description, MacAskill says he had been looking for the perfect chain since 2007 and that he had around 100 tries over two days before success.

One hundred tries!

Imagine how you’d feel on the 99th attempt. So much time and effort but no guarantee you’ll pull it off.

Don’t stop trying new things.

Create a culture where people feel they can keep trying too.        

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