How to break the Rules and Still Win!

Breaking all the Rules

I’m sure there was a song about Breaking all the Rules and I certainly broke most of them this past week, which is a setback but not a disaster. You see I choose not to be a Victim, I choose to accept Responsibility and ultimately what set’s us all apart are the choices that we make in our everyday life (when faced with challenges) and the consequences that arise from those choices.

This past week (week 7) I had to go to Johannesburg for two days, then I flew to Cape Town to support my son at a Water Polo Tournament before driving back to Port Elizabeth. So my training routine was upset and of course my nutrition plan was also unsettled. I know I should not be making excuses, but we are all human and we make bad choices or mistakes.

Being an extremist, once I had broken one rule (eating plan) the whole damn rule book seemed to fly out of the window and I was enjoying beers, cake and chocolate (my weakness) on my travels. So now I’d fallen off the wagon, or the horse and it was a case of do I just accept my fate and return to my old ways, or do I pick myself up, dust myself off and get back into the saddle? (Goal = Less Carbs or #LCHF)

How True is This?

It’s all about Challenge; Choice: Outcome!

Here I was faced with a Challenge (or an Obstacle) and the outcome, or my future, would be determined by the choices I was going to make.

The bottom line is that I had broken the rules and was about to disqualify myself from my goals, or the race. It would all depend upon the choices that I would make as to whether I decide to become a Loser or a Winner? So I chose to get back on the Horse and take responsibility for the fact that I had gone off the rails temporarily, but would re-commit myself to my Goals, my Challenge.

If I can get back on the Horse and stay in the saddle I will still win, even though I broke the Rules!

Should we Focus on the Winning the War or the Battles?

I know this could sound contradictory, but there is a time for both.

In terms of the bigger picture, it is important to focus on Winning the War and not every single one of life’s daily Battles. My WAR is to get on top of my Nutrition over time, to ensure I do more right than wrong and to gradually move towards my destination. If I had to focus on winning every single Battle, I would be a nervous wreck, I would be disillusioned and quite depressed.

However, if I focussed solely on Winning the War it would be far too daunting a task, thus I also need to focus upon the Journey. In other words I need to try and win more of life’s daily battles than I lose, but understand that I cannot win every single Battle. This past week I probably won 4 days and lost 3, so I still came out a winner and I suppose it is all about how you view things.

I guess the mental challenge (approach) is much like racing an Ironman, there are times when you need to push hard and dig deep and there are times when it would be wiser to back off, recover before getting back into the mix.

“How do you view yourself? 

I guess it is all about how do you view yourself? Do you see yourself as Middle Class or World Class and I’m not talking income or assets here?

How you view yourself has an impact upon how you face up to your everyday challenges and the goals that you set for yourself. This has an impact upon the choices that you will make and ultimately the outcomes that will result from those choices.

Most people are satisfied with their everyday life, or they pretend to be and they try to live life in a comfort zone and they don’t like to take risks. Very often they are frustrated, as they are merely existing and every time a challenge or an obstacle crops up they view it as a problem. In certain cases they think they know enough and have stopped learning, dreaming and aspiring.

However, if you are reading this then I think you may be looking for something better or a new way of doing things. Do you embrace all of your challenges and are you looking for the solution or the opportunity therein?  Do you live life beyond your comfort zone and do you enjoy doing so? Are you grateful for the challenges and the opportunities that cross your path? Do you try and manage Risks and are you prepared to take calculated risks? If you fail, do you strive to learn from the mistakes? Are you casting new Visions, Dreaming or aspiring to new challenges? If so you are well on your way to World Class!!  

Remember when you stop Dreaming or Learning is when you start declining!

It’s your Choice, but here is what I choose to do:

-To Dream, to take Risks and to learn from my experiences or mistakes.

-To Aspire, to live life beyond my comfort zone.

-To be grateful for both the Opportunities and the Obstacles.

I am living proof that we can reinvent ourselves and that we are never too old to Dream.

 What will your choice be?

I’m already back on track and hope to bring you a positive report back on my progress next week, until then focus upon making the right choices.

From: @alecriddle

YES, you Can, you Will, you Want to!!