Do you ever feel like you push yourself too hard or perhaps have expectations that leave you disappointed? Now more than ever with the constant ability to compare yourself not only with your neighbors, but the ENTIRE rest of the world on social media, it can be really easy to focus on the external and feel like you should be striving for more. It’s easy to get caught up in always needing to do better, earn more income, run faster, lift heavier weights, gain or lose X amount of pounds to look like so and so; but the external comparisons and outcome focus is not really what longevity is about in my opinion.

From Pushing Boundaries to Mastery:

As I come back from vacation with family and celebrate my 41st birthday, I am reflecting more and more on how I have started to shift my own focus in the last several years. Age is but a number, but years do go faster and perspective on life reorients with it. There is something about getting older that ultimately shifts our focus away from attaining some peak and refocuses on mastery. Perhaps it is our inability to push in the ways we used to when we were younger, maybe it was naiveté that melts away as wisdom is gained, or maybe it’s a shift in hormones and what’s important. Regardless of whether a shift toward mastery is something conscious or a combination of subconscious mixed with time, it is something I think we all should purposefully focus more on both in our personal lives, hobbies, and yes, of course… in the gym!

Mastery in your training, whether you enjoy blazing the trails outdoor running, slamming heavy weights on your back and taking them for a ride in the gym, or perhaps something else that gets your blood pumping is not about that edginess. It’s more about self-discovery and exploration. It’s less about slamming and more about finding refinement and efficiency. Less about blazing and more about enjoyment.

One Element of Mastery to Incorporate in Your Training Now:

Whether you are new to something or a seasoned veteran, there is always one thing you can return to again and again. One element of mastery that I have learned can be beneficial for anyone to shift focus to right now in their training is about embracing the smallest progress with curiosity, patience and persistence. This progress is NOT just linear metrics of improvement.

Progress is change. It is any thing you can do to make something feel new again to you in a way you can explore and discover it again. This is what brings progress early on; and it is what truly sustains it through the end. It is the long game approach and what will keep you at whatever you enjoy doing for movement for life.

Next time you feel burnt out or perhaps you feel like you’re not getting to where you want to be (be it compared to what your expectations are or perhaps something you saw on social media), try shifting your focus to what you can do to master rather than get better. Try pretending like it is the first time you have done whatever it is you are about to do and see how you feel in approaching and getting into it again fresh. In doing so, you will indeed get better, and better….and better.

Here are a few steps you can use to shift your focus to mastery at any stage:

1. Always approach what you are about to do with a beginners mindset and see what you can learn

2. Go slow and break things down into parts

3. Learn how to put parts back together again as seamlessly and as flowing as you possibly can

4. Stay humble and patient

5. Repeat

We love helping people connect more and enjoy their training what works best for their wellness. If you’re interested, please book a free consult with us

Have some more curiosity about goal setting where to start? Have a read here:

White knuckling doesn’t work- https://www.resilient-body.com/blog/why-white-knuckling-doesnt-work