Learning Lessons: The Summer Rut and Out of Routine

I shared last week in my Learning Lessons email that I was on vacation in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The vacation continued though going into the July 4th weekend/early week. Thursday night we landed, got unpacked, and repacked as we left Friday early afternoon to spend the weekend with my in-laws (Karen and John Burton) at their beautiful home in Cape Cod. It was a big family weekend and we got to celebrate my daughter Charlotte’s 1st birthday (She was born on the 4th of July). It was funny as I didn’t put 2 and 2 together but on the night of this past Monday (July 3rd), after a strenuous day of golf with my father-in-law and good friend/fellow Prototype member Mark DiRienzo, my father-in-law John said: “lets drink some Margaritas”. As we sat and watched a Lance Armstrong documentary, sipping the sweet and salty Marg’s he reminded me we did the exact same thing last year… through the night on July 3rd… then my wife Erin’s water broke at around 10 pm. It brought me back to that night when we made a last-minute decision to head on Sunday to the cape to celebrate the 4th… it was just as hot as it was this past weekend. We had to rush from Cape Cod to UMASS Memorial in Worcester (90 minutes or so later). It was a wild night, but had an amazing ending…

The story above may not really seem to have anything to do with today’s Learning Lessons, but I’ll let you be the judge.

It reminds me a bit of the cyclical nature of things. How hard it is to break habits OR get out of a rut… this time of year may seem to familiar. The weather is hot, the nights are longer, the kids are off from school… schedules change, routines change. You may be eating and/or drinking more than usual… you may be exercising less than normal. 

2 Lesson’s I’m Still Learning…

1/ This Sh*t can be HARD…

I’ve been coaching people for close to 15 years now. At the end of the day, a core part of my role is to help people develop better habits and routines. Give options and strategies to be successful, to help break through some of the challenges they’re facing. But we got out of our own routines sometimes. Life isn’t always linear I’m realizing. While on vacation, I worked out HALF as much as I normally do… I ate and drank WAY MORE than I normally do… but it didn’t stop there. Going into July 4th week, I was not motivated… I was tired, the last thing I wanted to do was work out. I felt like crap, I was sleeping in later… using Charlotte as my alarm clock.

As coaches, we struggle. I don’t think we talk about that enough. We don’t have it figured out at times and I think for me in particular it’s important to recognize that no matter how disciplined you may be/think you are, you’re never going to bat .1000. 

2/ Go alone to go fast, go together to go far

I was thinking about that quote as I was writing this. The part on keeping a routine, it’s so much harder when you’re in it by yourself, no one to hold you accountable or to do it with. 

James Clear (author of Atomic Habits… great book check it out)  talks about building habits… if you want to build a strong habit, associate yourself with people who already have them OR that want it just as badly as you do. It makes it harder if you’re going against social norms (ex: if you want to exercise more, spend more time with people who exercise vs. people who don’t). 

I did the 12pm class today. It was packed… folks of all ages, fitness levels… it’s awesome. I wasn’t feeling highly motivated starting, but showing up is more than half the battle. Someone said this to me the other day and I love it “The heaviest weight in the gym is the front door”… so true, right? Could argue that the sneakers you put on or your car keys to drive to the gym as the heaviest weights outside the gym… not sure.

Back to the class… the common thread is everyone is there to work hard and if there is something that makes it even a little bit easier… it’s probably doing it with a group. Set my mind back on track for the rest of the week/weekend. It was cool… I’m curious if you’ve felt this way? 

If you’re struggling to get on track/get in a routine? This time of year isn’t just hard for you, you’re not in it alone