In her May 17 “Your Best Next Move” video, Bobbie LaPorte shares the power of dealing with uncertainty and how she had to put her own advice into practice after a series of frustrating interruptions threatened to derail her training. Rather than giving up, she reacted from a place of possibility—which helped her get back in the saddle again (literally, in this case).
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT OF YOUR BEST NEXT MOVE: THE POWER OF DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY, UNEXPECTED SITUATIONS AND CURVEBALLS
Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly tip for your Best Next Move – where I help you have more agency in your work, acknowledge your capacity to act and see what you can do right now.
This week I wanted to share a personal experience about dealing with those small frustrations, unexpected issues, everyday things that go side-ways in your daily routine that can really throw you off base and tempt you to say “That’s it – I give up”
Many of you know I am training for my 7th Ironman triathlon. Every day I get a training schedule from my coach for either a swim, bike, run, or strength workout – or some combination. Saturdays are generally for the long bike ride of the week. Right now, my bike is set up on what is called a “smart trainer” – which allows me to simulate road conditions and set specific targets for power, cadence and other metrics.
Last Saturday’s schedule called for a 2:30 minute “ride”, which is a long time to be on a bike, continually spinning but I have been working up to this, am getting stronger and was up for the challenge.
Let me paint the picture for you of what happened that morning.
My partner Larry was out so I was also on puppy duty that morning… which resulted in several interruptions in my ride as Nilla – our new Golden Retriever puppy – wanted to go out, then come in, then she was chewing on something she wasn’t supposed to; then the app on my phone stopped working, my bottle of nutrition started leaking, then the doorbell rang.
I was getting frustrated with all the times I had to stop and get off, attend to her and then get back on. I like to get in a groove when I am riding.
About halfway through the ride, as I was getting back on, I felt the bike shift on the trainer – one of the bolts holding it on came lose, the bike fell off the trainer, and I fell with it. My first thought was to make sure I wasn’t hurt; then I righted the bike – only to find that I had bent the skewer on the rear wheel and the bike was no longer rideable.
That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. I was discouraged and demoralized, ready to throw in the towel. I had always been able to overcome obstacles and distractions but I felt like the universe was telling me that this workout was just not meant to be.
Wait a minute. Haven’t I been preaching the power of dealing with uncertainty, with how to handle unexpected situations by responding with what is possible, not reacting in resignation?
So, I took a breath and thought okay, this is just another unexpected situation, like all the others I experience during training and on race day. All I need is a new skewer for the rear wheel. I can walk down the street to the bike shop, get a new one and get back in the saddle (literally).
Look, this happens to all of us… probably every day. There are surprises and interruptions – a customer escalation, employee problem, unexpected family issue – when they pile up over a period of time, they can really shake us up – and the environment of uncertainty and anxiety that still surrounds us make it easy for us to give in and give up. But that’s just exactly the opposite of what your team needs from you right now.
Here’s my tip:
When this happens to you – stop for a moment, consider the overall picture of everything that is going on around you, the arc of your work and life right now – including all the good things in your life you are grateful for. Is this one thing really significant enough to derail your efforts and intentions?
Think about that for a moment and see if addressing this one thing can be the thing that stops the slide and gets you back on track.
I want 2021 to be a year of momentum for you, one of possibility thinking where you take advantage of the agency, we sometimes forget we have.
That’s my tip for this week. I’ll see you next Monday; take care of yourselves!