Overcoming obstacles
We have all, at one point or another, come up against a situation in which we get stuck, held back, or are unable to reach our goals. It’s frustrating. It forces us to look inward and it tests our motivation to achieve the task at hand.
Facing obstacles is certainly not a new thing when it comes to health and fitness. While they both require planning and preparation, life, and perhaps more specifically, emotional reactions to life are often one of the biggest challenges. Something unexpected happens and we are forced to alter the plan, give up all together, or simply pause. But in between, we sometimes use past behaviours to deal, grieve, or motivate.
The truth is, returning to past behaviours isn’t the worst thing you could do, so long as you recognize it and set boundaries. Let me give you an example. I’m an emotional eater. When life goes a bit wonky, I fall back on potato chips. They’re my comfort food. The salt, the crunch, all the carby goodness. So when these unplanned bumps in the road occur, my immediate reaction is must acquire potato chips, which I know aren’t my best or healthiest option. This is especially true because it’s never just a few. It’s usually a few bags. The difference between before and at present? I now have the mechanisms to say, okay, we’re going to wallow, stress, etc., tonight, but tomorrow we go back to plan.
But how do we get those mechanisms?
The short answer: a lot of hard work and accountability planning. The longer answer isn’t quite so simplistic. The reality is, everyone deals with life’s unexpected gifts differently. And you know what? That’s okay.
Maybe your obstacles aren’t related to the ups and downs of life. Maybe the obstacle is related to the plan, such as plateaus, injury, etc. Even when the plan isn’t going, well, according to plan, the same mechanisms can be used. And because the way we deal is different for each of us, I’ll speak to my own methods.
Despite my comment above about running to the store for chips, when I’m faced with an obstacle I have learned to give myself a moment of pause. By taking these few moments, hours, and sometimes days to allow my brain to sift through all of the emotions and options, it prevents me from making rash decisions. From there, I look at the options and assess how each could work alongside my existing plan, or better yet, how it can improve it.
In fitness, in particular, I’ve come to learn that when we aren’t making the desired changes (increasing our weight load, decreasing time, or adding a certain amount of distance, for example), it can be a response to our bodies being tired and overworked. Taking a pause can help in this way, as well. Give your body a day or two to rest, and you might be surprised what it will do when you return to the activity.
This pause also allows us to reassess the goal, and even the motivation behind it. If you’re struggling to increase the amount of weight you are lifting, maybe it’s worthwhile to ask yourself why doing so is your goal. I am in no way saying that you shouldn’t push yourself, but more so noting that our motivations are sometimes not reflective of what we actually hope to achieve, but rather what we think is expected of us. For the record, staying at the same weight/distance/time/whatever the goal for an extended period of time is perfectly alright.
Setting boundaries is another way I’ve learned to overcome obstacles, particularly when it comes to my health and fitness. These boundaries determine how long you are willing to go “off course.” Admittedly, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all time block here. Sometimes I just need the evening, sometimes a weekend, sometimes longer. Regardless of what timeframe you set, the important thing is to set it, and stick to it (for the most part). By doing so, you are more likely to return to your routine, than if you just wing it. It’s about building accountability, after all!
Finally, reevaluate your goals. When goal setting, we try to set one larger objective, and assign smaller, incremental tasks to help us get there. Maybe the obstacle is the result of those smaller goals not being small enough. Maybe you’re trying to do too much, too soon. There are any number of reasons that an obstacle may occur, but it’s a worthwhile exercise to look at the plan and adjust as necessary. This is related to what I was saying earlier. The bottomline, however, is that goals can change. They often do. But be sure to go easy on yourself if you are reluctant to shift the direction you are taking.
At the end of the day, how we react to what is standing in our way is the difference between overcoming and defeat. Pause. Create awareness. Reassess. Make a plan. Overcome.
