I read. A lot! All sorts of books, sports, sci-fi, crime thrillers, horrors; you name it and I will read it. I love to read, it's calming for the brain, portable, private and keeps the mind open to new possibilities and concepts.
What it also does is fill my mind with information, which it stores away in the deepest darkest crannies, until such a time as it becomes useful (either professionally or in a pub quiz).
And so it was, the other day I was talking to a client about the challenges of improving body composition and making changes to effect that change. Like most clients, a healthier body composition is one of her goals.
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She has made tremendous progress on weight loss through better nutrition and 5 months ago we started training together. Now she has better body shape, improved strength and a really healthy attitude to exercise. Her success has lead to setting new and tougher targets. Initially weight loss and strength gains come quickly, but as you get fitter and stronger, improvements are tougher to achieve.
We were talking about identifying the biggest barrier to making those improvements, when I mentioned Occam's razor to her.
Now this client is smart, so when she said she didn't know it I started to doubt the relevancy, but as I explained it to her the whole thing made complete sense.
Occam's razor states "entities should not be multiplied needlessly". I never really grasped it when I read that (seeing as 14th century philosophy isn't my strong point), but a simpler explanation is "all things being equal, the simplest answer is most often correct".
Also known as the principle of economy, using this principle you can quickly identify your barriers to reaching goals. It doesn't solve the problem, that's done with hard work and dedication, but it does give you a point in the right direction.
Doctors apparently use it to diagnose patients, looking at the given symptoms, the most likely diagnosis is the most probable one.
Take a moment to think about a goal you have set yourself but didn't reach. It could be a performance goal, fitness goal, anything.
Now when you think about what stopped you from reaching it, all things being equal, it becomes apparent what stopped you reaching it.
And unless you do something about it, that same barrier can stop you from getting reaching it again.
Last year I DNF'd at an ultramarathon. I did lots of running and training in the approach to the race. I was in good race shape and well prepared for it. But it didn't happen on the day. I've looked back on it a thousand times and beat myself up for stopping at the side of that road. Surely I could have pushed on.
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| Before the race, I felt great. It quickly went wrong! |
If I really love running surely I would have carried on moving forwards, making that relentless forward progress.
But I didn't. 43 miles in I ground to a halt, made a phone call and got picked up. I blamed my training, the event, the trail (seriously, I told someone it wasn't my kind of trail (dick)), my kit, other people; literally anything and anyone else.
Looking back and considering Occam's razor, I know it was my nutrition that was off. I ballsed up from the start. I ate way too early in the morning, nothing just before the start and then nothing until the first aid station 13 miles in. Then I didn't eat enough and so on and so on. The record of my spectacular DNF is recorded here.
Running that race was a big goal for me and not finishing was a massive disappointmentt. But now I know what held me back I can be sure not to make the same mistake again.
The first step towards success is sometimes trying before failing.
The second is continuing to try.
If you have any thoughts on this post please leave comments below or visit my website, or contact me at dancartwrightpt@gmail.com. If you have read this and thought, "shit, I know what's holding me back" get in touch and let's start tackling those barriers.
