Mastery and The Chase for Perfection

At Transitions Chiropractic I’m blessed to be inspired each and every day by the amazing people I get to meet. Many of whom are looking for ways to get more from their bodies and their lives. This enables them to continue to live life at it’s fullest. Over the past few weeks I have been privileged enough to have met some truly inspirational people. Two women who did incredibly well competing in their first ever Ironman Triathlon, another couple lucky enough to have a horse race in the Million Dollar Everest Horse Race, another looking for a massive personal best at the Melbourne Marathon, one who smashed his first 210Km Around The Bay Ride in Melbourne and another beautiful lady hoping to be able to sweep the floors, hang up the washing and even do the grocery shopping a little easier.  In each example, these amazing individuals had to show some incredible discipline, commitment and training. They had to show belief to truly live their life without limits and work towards gaining their chosen mastery.

Being inspired by some of their amazing feats, I am tackling my own beast this coming weekend. I’m competing in the 255km Fitz’s Challenge bike ride through the Brindabella Ranges in Canberra with over 5000m of climbing….. Even for me this is really daunting and it’s going to be a long day in the saddle. The question here I feel is the same for me as it is for everyone mentioned above:

What key steps can I do every day to gain mastery??

• Commit– Although it may sound easy, committing to the goal is hard. Whatever it is, you will need to set your eyes on the prize. Once you can visualise what it is you want to do you can then start to see with your heart and mind just what it is you want to achieve. Saying “I wish” is about as powerful as a single drop of rain. However, saying “I will” is as strong as an overflowing river in the middle of the monsoon. It is powerful enough to carve through mountains, erode rocks and even take out small villages in the way. Once you are committed you are now the stream. You can now create the momentum to getting towards your destination.
• Believe– Henry Ford said it best, “whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you are right.” Sums up the concept of belief perfectly. The 1.5kg brain of ours weighs a fraction of the percentage of our overall mass however, it truly is the master controller. Your brain must believe that you are capable of achieving whatever it is you wish whether it is competing, winning or even finishing your next race. The success of any task that you do is completely influenced by your brain this goes in the business world, sporting world and even in parenting. For example, Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Airlines had to believe they could take on British Airways, Usain Bolt had tobelieve he could win 10 gold medals in the sprinting and I have to believe each and every day that I am doing the best thing for Cain & Peyton and raising them to be the future rockstars they’ll eventually become. Even in the world of chiropractic, if you believe that our adjustment helps you and makes you feel better, chances are it will….
• Discipline– Training is never something you can just do once. Whatever the goal we must be disciplined to stay on track and gain mastery. We cannot get pulled away by the nearest distraction. In our incredibly fast paced world, distractions, comparisons and illusions are everywhere.

A) Distractions: being in the moment is absolutely critical. As famous NFL coach Nick Saban says, “be where your feet are.” If you say you are going to do it, then stand by your decision. Otherwise, it is like the boy who cries wolf- no one believed him in the end and it cost his shepherds precious flock.

B) Illusions are when we get stuck thinking that one great result will make everything perfect. Thankfully that is not the case and getting anywhere is best achieved with a whole bunch of deliberate forward steps. The illusion myth is also shattering if you had a single set back or bad training session. Be disciplined in sticking to the overall goal. Don’t get lost in the illusion of grandeur or disappointment along the way.

C) Constant comparison is another huge problem in this Instagram, Facebook and Social Sharing world. It is very easy to look at what someone else is doing and think that they have it perfect. Be disciplined enough to stick to your guns. Your decisions are essential as you are always your best own experiment where N = 1. It’s impossible to get anywhere if you are constantly changing your training and looking for the next instant improvement. As I heard only recently, “if you think the grass is always greener, perhaps you should try watering your own grass…..”

“I LOVE to train and I ENJOY it.”

• Train– At Transitions Chiropractic, more often than not I am here to help you feel better. To do this we have to ask your body to change. To move from the land of pain to the land of the living, more often than not, requires teaching your body a new way to move and to stay there. We are training your body. Similar to learning to surf or swing a golf club, training isn’t something you can do just once. The best way to train is to break it down. Regular small doses of deliberate training will far outweigh one massive exhausting session. We call this concept “Eating an Elephant.” It would be impossible with one massive gulp, but with regular small mouthfuls it is certainly achievable. It also helps to be as deliberate as possible when doing the training. Going through the motions will lead to habits and I suggest you want to create the best habits possible.  Deliberate training also gives you a chance to visualise your perfection. Engage your brain and see yourself doing exactly what it is you want to do, why you want to do it and how it is going to happen. Once that clarity is there it is so much easier to stay focused. It’s easier to train with purpose and intent as you know it’ll make reaching the goal so much more likely. Lastly, it will make the training so much more enjoyable. I’ve run now for over 90 straight days. Each of the past few weeks I have picked one drill each week to focus on. These drills included: leaning forward, lifting my knees higher, pushing off harder with my feet, etc. I’m far from perfect however, I’ve taken over a minute off my 5k time in a month. I’m much closer to gaining mastery as a result.
• Enjoy– I’m lucky enough to love what I do so for me it is easy to get up and train. Whether it is training to give you the best care possible, be the best father and husband,learn something new or to tackle something insane like Fitz’s Challenge. I LOVE to train and I ENJOY it. As Andrew Garfield said “I’ve realized that at the top of the mountain, there’s another mountain.” So I personally choose to enjoy the climb as much as possible as I know I will always be climbing. Another great way that I see it is, “Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” ― David McCullough Jr.

Mastery is there and it is within all of you. I hope that if we can unlock your potential, we can help you on the path of your next mountain…