Last week did not go according to plan.
My wife ended up in the hospital and needed to have her gallbladder removed. (He’s ready now .)
I wrote last week’s newsletter from the hospital room, using… let’s call it and hope Wi-Fi.
When the email came out this week, I opened it and immediately noticed that at the bottom of the email there were some strange typos. The first letters of the names were missing. Unusual punctuation and line breaks. Things I KNOW I didn’t put there.
And my first reaction is ABSOLUTELY CONFIRMED:
“Hey! How did this happen? Such a disaster. I can’t believe I messed up.”
Look at the spiral.
Fortunately, I had a trusted mentor who stopped me.
And it reminded me of the advice I give coaching clients each time.
Not all exercise will be good
Some workouts feel amazing.
Others feel cheated.
Some are disconnected.
Some don’t go planning at all.
And that’s not failure – that’s normal!
The only unrealistic expectation is that everything will go well, all the time.
Somehow, I was getting into the idea that this The journal should be complete. All words. Always send. There is no exception.
Life (and the hospital internet) had other plans.
The real win was not to stop some kind of system from being perfect, forever.
It was a choice to move forward instead of beating myself up.
It didn’t end there
My advice has been thrown back at me for the second time this week. 
A few months ago, I joined a group coaching program that helps you share your story on podcasts more effectively.
Funny twist: the trainer who runs that group is one of my Nerd Fitness trainer clients.
One of the things that helped me he he was creating a sustainable exercise program – something that didn’t require burning the candle at both ends, something he could stick to.
And it worked. He feels good. It has become a part of his life.
At that time, when it comes mine podcast goals, my mind went straight to:
“Well, obviously I need to go in. Hours every day. Total dedication. If I don’t do that…am I even trying?”
He kindly reminded me:
“This is the same thing you teach about fitness.”
A little consistent work each week goes a long way.
Systems hit perfection.
Sustainability wins.
And you know what? As soon as he said that, and I stopped putting unrealistic expectations on myself, I actually made MORE progress.
That’s the response I got from a reader a few weeks ago:
Hi Matt, Thanks for this email – it landed in my inbox at the perfect time. Also, the funny thing is that feeling MORE pressure to squeeze in a workout today makes it happen A LOT.
Why am I sharing this
On merit, I am very good at trusting the process.
Because I’ve seen it work many times.
Without merit? It’s still learning.
If you feel pressured to:
- Be perfect
- Don’t miss a week
- Go inside or don’t bother at all
…it’s usually a sign that we need to step back and reassess.
That’s exactly what I’ll be going over in a quick live training session on Thursday at 3pm PST.
I’ll be raising some of the most common questions we get from readers, and help you zoom in and take a look:
- How can you tell if your current plan is really working?
- How to build systems that survive busy weeks, low energy days, and real life
- How to move forward without needing to have everything perfect
If that sounds helpful, I’d love to have you there.
.Here is the link to register..
talk soon,
– Math
The post Coming up, I needed my advice last week (twice!) appeared first on Nerd Fitness.
