‘It’s like putting Diesel into a Petrol Engine!’

I’m trying to put it behind me. But it’s not that easy this time around. There is a payback involved. In instalments and with interest. But I’m getting there and I’m learning from it. To hopefully be aware and smart enough to avoid a repeat.

What’s the ‘it’ I’m talking about? The festive season. Or more precisely me overindulging during the festive season. And at the same time underperforming. And I’m paying for it. With a chest infection and low energy. Low energy, me? How did that happen?

I try and look after myself best I can during the year because my Coaching & Training business takes a lot of energy and so does my sport. I run Marathons and other long distance races from 10K upwards. So bit by bit I have been improving my Health, Nutrition and Fitness. Gradually.

I have been doing the same with my business; I’m adapting and changing in order to grow it. Because growth means I can facilitate and assist more people to a significantly higher quality of life.

Then I made a mistake. I did too much by myself and didn’t ask for help. So I got tired, emotionally and physically. So I decided to take a few days of over Christmas. Cue comfort food and alcohol. I never ate too much or got drunk but I overindulged and slept less.

After gradually improving my health and fitness in 2013 my body revolted and I have been struck with a chest infection and head cold at the same time. I’m still working away (not a Man Flu sufferer J ) but at a slower pace and I’m not training. Instead of moaning about it I learn from it. As someone put it eloquently to me in the last few days: ‘You were putting Diesel into a Petrol Engine.’ So ‘No More Diesel’ then.

That means asking the right people for help with my business, training smartly to avoid ‘needing a break’, more races to keep it interesting, learning new skills to keep growing and having fun, more social involvement in the community and no more alcohol or processed foods apart from the odd celebratory drink or meal at birthdays or special occasions.

This will increase my energy, increase my productivity, make me feel better and more fulfilled, will be more fun and get me to meet more fun people.

You see when you discover the real reason behind ‘normal’ events (because everyone gets colds in January right?) then you can learn from it and improve. And learning I do from my mistakes and therefore I hope I will make many often!

What mistakes did you make in the last few weeks? What caused them? What can you learn from them? What can you do to avoid them in future?

Have a great day, because today is the only day that matters.

Patrick X