3 things is one too many!
I have a theory, that I’ve shared a number of times, mostly in the pub after a glass of prosecco.
Actually, calling it a theory is a bit OTT. It’s more an observation. It goes like this: in life we are generally able to handle 2 big things. Try to add a third on top, and things normally fall apart.
So for example: I can run my business and run the family home. Whenever I try to add a third thing in (which for me is my own training and nutrition) things fall apart. Like, I take my girls to ballet lesson on the wrong day, I run out of food, or I get ill… Again…
It happens to me time and time again. But I think I’ve finally learnt the lesson though and I’m learning to recognise the warning signs…
I’m also beginning to figure out what I need to do about it. And it goes something like this. I want to think about my ‘things’ as “dials” that I can turn on and off. The maximum is 10 but I’m only allowed to have my dials totalling to a maximum of 20 at any one time…
So, for example: sometimes training becomes super-important because for example we’re back into competitive season. This means that I need my training, nutrition and recovery dialled up to the max, eating up 10 of my available 20!
So something has got to give!
That means I need to dial back the business substantially: I need stop dreaming up new ideas, I need to get more people delivering sessions, I need to get more help on the admin side. I need to stop taking on more work.
Similarly, the family/home requirement needs to dial back substantially: I need to stop creating hassles for myself (like rewards charts for trying new foods, which involves thinking of and preparing new foods). It also means I need better systems so that I know where I need to be and when. And it means I need to outsource stuff like cooking, cleaning and laundry! And I’ll be begging round for a few extra play dates too…
And the thing to note is that this isn’t permanent: I’ve 4 weeks with these dials while the competitions are important and then I’ll revisit. Training will dial back down to a 5 or 6. Business will dial up. And I’ll do something about my extremely fussy eaters’ eating habits.
The key is to understand there are limits to what we can physically and mentally cope with. We need to recognise that we can’t possibly do everything to the max all of the time, and find a way for dialling back the stuff that isn’t fundamental.
So, what do you think about my theory? Leave a comment to let me know
