Hello Friends~
I have a t-shirt that says “Enough Is Never Enough”.
And my mantra is “It’s ok Polli”. Opposites, huh?
Being ok with being ok.
I try to be present, even hyper-present most of the time, but too often it feels like I’m failing – it’s impossible to be ON all the time. I think it all started with the sudden death of my mother when I was a new mom. I was struck back then that each moment is fleeting, and for many years I felt an urgent need to make the most of every day that persists to now.
Finally I’m learning balance – to be ok in the 4s and 5s instead of 10.
I read an article this morning, The “wisdom of finding joy in the mundane, unremarkable, and frankly boring”… (Here’s the whole article in in the NY Times). For the new year, Rosh Hashana, it’s a place I want to be more often.
I brought this up in a meeting today with the excellent Rowing For Fitness Professionals Group – being ok with ok. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good, in our own training, and in our coaching. I’ve been guilty of being too focused on technique and skills rather than the fun of working out, for myself and for clients. This is important in training for every athlete to build base, and most important, to avoid burnout.
Today the workout wasn’t about numbers.
The Virtual Open Studio group Zoom session this morning was just what we all needed. The members of the session tipped their monitors over so they couldn’t see numbers, and we focused on breath, rate of perceived exertion (how we felt), and kept the intensity to a talk-able level. A significant volume of every athlete’s training should be in this zone, but too often we hold our bar to a 10 and beat ourselves up if we don’t achieve it. It’s smart training.
It was enlightening and liberating for everyone.
The workout wasn’t super exciting, but not boring either. Not perfect. Just ok. And just right!
Onward~
Polli
