I work out five days a week, on a very regimented schedule. I also spend 15 – 20 minutes every day on mobility work – stretching, foam rolling, dynamic balance work, etc. So, after finishing six consecutive weeks of travel, including a nine-day vacation to Kauai, you’d expect that I’d feel somewhat lethargic and stiff, right?Guess what? I feel fine. Why?
It’s not because I followed my routine while traveling. Not at all. Sure, I did my weekend workouts, but I couldn’t maintain the same intensity in my workouts, eat as well, sleep enough, or continue my daily mobility work. And these drop-offs happened while spending a lot of time sitting on airplanes and in meetings.
But you know what I was able to do? I did some of my workouts. I didn’t eat well, but I did ok while still enjoying some high-calorie fine dining. I enjoyed some cocktails, but never too many. I moved as much as possible. On our vacation, we did as much hiking, golfing, and kayaking as we could. I didn’t reach my self-care goals during the last six weeks – not even close - but I tried.
I didn’t take an all or nothing mindset. I accepted that I wasn’t going to be leading as healthy of days as I usually do, but 60% or 70% was ok. And that frame of mind made all the difference. I feel fine right now. I don’t feel like I gained any weight (though I’m sure there’s an extra couple pounds in there somewhere), my endurance is high, and I feel strong. I’m a little off in all areas, but I can barely tell.
Many salespeople live in black or white. “I have to make 100 prospecting calls per week, and I just don’t have the time.” Instead of doing 20 or 40, they do nothing. They’re waiting until they have time to prospect, engage is sales training, create a strategic plan to enter a market, etc. Greatness lives in the gray. Mediocrity and anxiety believe only in black and white. What can you do?
Define your ideal week. How does that look? Every hour of every day. What are you doing is a perfect world? Use that as a model. Now, here’s the secret: accept that you will never – and I mean literally never – come close to reaching that ideal week. That’s ok. Do the best you can. If you can’t work in the field with your sales team for 12 hours this week, then do what you can – maybe that’s only three hours. If you can’t do all three hours of professional development and it’s Friday at 3:30 and you have 45 minutes, then do 45 minutes.
Remember, greatness lives in the gray!
