This Saturday sees the culmination of a lot of hard work for me, a journey of highs and lows and a lot of learning about myself, my habits, my resilience and that grey matter that resides in my head.

It’s been a journey of self-discovery and self care, learning the dynamic of being both tough with myself and extremely compassionate too.

I’m about to attempt the gruelling Yorkshire Warrior challenge. A 5-mile run, full of mud, extreme obstacles and challenges that will see grown men weep!

As I write this, it is snowing outside, a message from the Gods that this is a totally crazy idea, Hailstones at the end of April! What happened to that vision I created in my mind of running in the outdoors in the spring sunshine?

When we set ourselves BIG goals, I mean REALLY big juicy goals, there is so much investment in succeeding, but at the same time, SO much resistance to walking towards that goal, let alone running towards it. Our subconscious mind has the job of keeping us safe, it likes the familiar and it will do anything it can to derail our new plans, especially if it has no reference to go to that soothes its fear and reassures it that this is indeed survivable.

So how do we overcome this push pull scenario? Well the first sign it’s going on is often
The self-talk and mental chatter that arises, some of it quite brutal. You know that stuff that goes… “ You’ll never manage to run that far, other people manage to, but not you.”
“You haven’t got the time to fit this new thing in to your schedule.” “Do it tomorrow, you’ve got too much on today.” Except, yes you got it, tomorrow never comes does it.

If you manage to push through some of the mild resistance above, you might enter the abuse territory. “You’ll never do it, you’re rubbish.” “God, you can’t even run for a minute without stopping, what’s the point.” “Forget it, you’re wasting your time, other people are much better at this than you, quit now.” “I told you that you couldn’t do it, you’ve never succeeded her before, you won’t do it in your 40’s, it was a stupid idea in the first place.”

Hmmm… Yes, I’ve visited all those places on my journey over the last 6 months, sometimes more than once.

So, what have I learned?
• That when it comes to fitness goals it is 80% Mindset, Focus and Concentration and 20% activity.
• Accountability helps.
• A deadline helps too. One that has consequences, like signing up for a run.
• That it’s important not to fight with your subconscious mind; after all it’s doing a great job of keeping you safe. Reassure it that you hear it; you know it’s got your best interests at heart but that you have this covered. Everything is going to be alright. There is no sabre tooth tiger around the corner.
• I REALLY know how important it is to bust those self-limiting beliefs that are holding you back. You can actually go from hating running to loving it. Believe me I hated every second when I started. Now I love it and the feeling of accomplishment!
• When you create the right Mindset the rest flows with ease.
• It’s extremely important to have a reason why you’re doing what you’re doing. Pick a big juicy ‘why’ and so when times get tough your why can overcome any resistance, obstacle and pain you may encounter on the journey towards your goal. (Mine was demonstrating to my boys that you can achieve anything in life if you put your mind to it. I just couldn’t quit, what would that show them).
• Visualise how it will look when you’ve achieved your goal. In my case running across the finishing line and seeing my husband and children clapping. Visualisation is a powerful thing and your subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between visualisation and the real thing.
• Last but not least, find ways to enjoy the journey. We all feel more inclined to take action and consistently show up when it’s fun!

So this weekend I get to arrive at my Goal, it’s been an interesting journey and my life is much richer for the experience. I hope you are inspired to achieve your big goal in life. If you’d like any support let me know.