And sticking to a plan.
Something I’ve found very hard since leaving my ironman days behind me and starting a family.
When I more or less lived for endurance sport, my life revolved around a training plan. I was young, free and single and had no one to worry about but myself, and immersing myself in my own world was easy. Eat, sleep, train, repeat… and work as little as necessary.
Now, with other (more important) responsibilities, I’m lucky to sneak out for a 15 minute jog. I make it sound like it’s out of my control, but in reality, it’s not. I have chosen my path and my responsibilities, and I have chosen to dedicate a significant portion of my time and energy to a family.
It is therefore, also my responsibility to choose to dedicate time and energy to myself. To not allow myself to be completely dragged along by the events of the day, even though there are moments when that is unavoidable. To plan my breathing, meditation, ice bath, exercise or whatever else I need in to my days or weeks.
To recognise that if I don’t charge my own batteries sufficiently, answer my calls to individuality regularly and assign great value to my own time and energy, I’ll be forever tired, frustrated and increasingly irritable. Which renders me incapable of being fully me, and consequentially incapable of fully assuming my other responsibilities.
This morning I began a new plan.
The first hour of the day is for me. I have to get up early enough to make it happen, but that’s fine.
6am, teeth clean, glass of warm water, check in – how am I mentally, phsyically, emotionally?
Light movement and stretching, breathing exercises, cold plunge, run around the garden and wave my arms around until I warm up again, and then dry off and enter the family morning routines.
That’s the beginning. Maintain this routine for a couple of weeks before adding something new.
The next is to schedule breathing breaks during the day, writing time, and self-development. Generating an income.
Stuart Westwood 