Failure is part of the process
I have not gone to the gym since the middle of March. Pre-Covid, I regularly attended dance fitness and Pilates classes because — after much experimentation — I learned that I can stick to this routine consistently.
Experiment #1: Pilates using YouTube
Once I was not able to go to the gym, I decided to experiment with doing Pilates using YouTube videos as my guide. I wanted to maintain the strength that I had developed over the last two years of working really hard to master Pilates form (y’all, it is WAY harder than it looks). With great enthusiasm, I planned to do a one hour video twice a week. I stuck to this plan for exactly 0 weeks. I did the videos only sporadically through April and May, and my plan has dwindled to no Pilates at all in the last 6 weeks. Basically, this experiment reinforced what I already know: I don’t like to exercise, and I won’t stick to a fitness plan unless I’m having fun and/or paying for accountability.
Experiment #2: Little rewards
Next experiment: I am going to introduce some fun into my plan by setting up little rewards. When I stick to my plan, I will do something fun as a reward like buy a new book, do an at home spa night with my daughter, start an interesting Netflix series, or take time to cut flowers from my yard and put them in vases. If this experiment doesn’t work, I may need to explore creative ways to hold myself accountable.
I hope you’ll take my tale of failure as encouragement to keep experimenting. So often, my clients decide they want to make a change and get derailed when their first experiment toward doing so doesn’t work. It may take me several iterations and repeated experiments, but I’m determined to find the right combination of workout and reward to keep me on track.
Designing and executing experiments to address changes you can control is a recurring theme in our Transforming Success® program. A new virtual version of our Transforming Success® program launches in early 2021, click here to learn more about Transforming Success® Virtual and register to be part of our first cohort.
