I ran my second triathlon of the season this past weekend. This course was the Valpo Triathlon, the same course where I did my very first triathlon last year.
When I ran this race last year, I never really conceptualized all the things I would go on to do. Another sprint tri, an olympic triathlon, a half marathon, a full marathon. When did these things happen? Sure I had written them down on a piece of paper and posted them online, but that’s just words on a piece of paper. Pixels on a screen. Writing is one thing. Doing is another. It seems crazy, but it all happened in just a year. Only a year.
But it still took a year.
A year might seem like a short period of time, but you can do so much in 365 days, if you really want to.
How to Get Better In A Year
1. Get better at 1 little thing every day.
2. Do it for 365 days.
3. 365 little improvements snowball into something substantial.
I finished this race 14 minutes and 24 minutes faster than last year’s race. A 15 minute improvement is great, and I’ll take it any day, but honestly I’m a little disappointed. I improved a good 10 minutes or so on the bike section just due to the fact that I wasn’t riding a mountain bike (a mistake I’ll never be making again). I improved about 5 minutes on the run as well, but I know I can go faster.
If I’m honest with myself, I didn’t always get better everyday this last year. Maybe every other day or every 3 days.
But the incredibly thing is:
A Year Is A Long Time
365 days is so much time. Even though I probably only got better every other day or every 3 days, I still got a ton better and was able to do a lot of impossible things.
So while 365 little improvements add up to something pretty significant. 100 little improvement still add up to something substantial.
A Quick Guide To Getting Better
Do Something.
What do you want to do better? Do that. If you want to do something big, do it in a small way first. If you want to do a hundred pushups, and you only have time to do 10 pushups at your lunch break, then do 10 pushups at your lunch break. If you want to write a novel but can only write 500 words a day, write 500 words a day. Pick something. No matter how small. Then go do it. But do something.
Look Stupid
I’m fairly skilled at this. Right now, I’m working on gaining weight. I’ve lost a lot of weight due to racing so I’m doing 4-6 weeks of GOMAD so I’m not just skin and bones. If you’re not familiar with GOMAD, all it really means is that I drink a Gallon Of Milk A Day (clever acronyms). There’s no way for me to drink that much milk while I’m at home and remotely enjoy life, so I take a half gallon with me to work every day and drink it there. I get all sorts of random stares, repetitive questions and I’m sure 73% of the people there think I’m nuts. I don’t care. I’m up 8 pounds in a week and a half. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I was worried about what people are thinking. Feel free to look stupid.
Be Consistent.
Make a schedule. Stick to it. If you commit to doing something once a week, do it once a week. If it’s 2x or 3x a week, do it that much. If it’s everyday, make sure you do it everyday. Leave some room for life, but be consistent, create a schedule and commit to it. Make it a habit, a part of your life. If you do it long enough, it begins to get weird when you leave it out.
If I tried turning GOMAD and only did it every few days or whenever I felt like it, I wouldn’t be gaining weight. It wouldn’t be a consistent enough action to effect any substantial change. Not only that, but once you start letting “how you feel” dictate what you do, you’ll find the times you don’t “feel” like doing work you need to do, grow and grow and grow once it takes a foothold. A schedule can help stop you from
There’s nothing interesting about mediocrity. Nobody ever gets excited to be average. If you’re not getting better, what are you doing instead?
Get better every single day.
Do 1 more pull up.
Run 1 second faster.
Write 1 more word.
Do 1 more pushup.
Swim 1 more lap.
1 more…
Pick something. Be better today. Be better tomorrow.
Always be better.
I am pleased to say that I now excel at looking stupid! I lost someone dear to me unexpectedly several years ago(he died of an aneurysm) and I think my fear kind of went with him. Life is short . . . and as my love was fond of saying, “F*** ’em if they can’t take a joke!”
Sorry about your loss, but I love that attitude. Great stuff Deborah.
Joel dude this is so true. I started back running like 4 months ago i’ve shaved off about 5 mins off my mile and run and pretty great pace on my way to 6 minute mile. I owe it all to consistency. This post also reminded me of some other goals that i need to get better with “everyday”. Thanks again for living out loud bud! You shine!
I’ll second what Solomon says about thanks for living out loud! (And in public, too!)
🙂
Thanks Solomon 🙂
Great post Joel! I’m trying to live up to your example. I am going to run my first 5K August 13th(at 48 years old).
I plan to keep moving up the “ladder” until I have marathon and Ironman triathlon under my belt(I may need a new one as I’ve lost 20 lbs in the last 3 weeks).
I ran before work this morning(3.25 miles)-first time I’ve ran on a normal day not going into work late.
I am in the middle of becoming a distributor for a line of nutrional products I am using and loving. I plan for this to be my vehicle to becoming debt free and leaving my current job-2 year goal.
I am still working on my blog I started 2 weeks ago.
Thanks for the inspiration, hope to shake your hand one day.
20 pounds. Congrats Don :). Good luck on the 5k. Be gentle on those knees, but go make it happen. Let me know how you do :).
Always important to remember not to live your life to impress others, but to impress and push yourself, no matter how stupid you look.
Thanks Steve.. err, I mean Joel, uhm, ya 🙂
How dare you…. :p
What a wonderful post! I especially like:
“1. Get better at 1 little thing every day.
2. Do it for 365 days.
3. 365 little improvements snowball into something substantial.
There’s nothing interesting about mediocrity. Nobody ever gets excited to be average. If you’re not getting better, what are you doing instead?”
I printed that out and taped it to my computer and another to my bathroom mirror.
Rock on. (I resisted the urge to ask, ‘Got milk?’)
I do, in fact, have a fridge full of milk. Getting lots of weird stares from the grocery checkout people, but if you stare right back, they usually don’t say much :).
Being lactose intolerant, the very thought of GOMAD makes me queasy. Congrats on losing enough weight that you need to gain some back. You’re in or very close to the top 1% of Americans in that regard!
It took a week or so to get acclimated (I only drank a 1/2 gallon every day), but after that, I doubled up to a full gallon and haven’t had any problems whatsoever. It’s sort of like drinking water now :).
Joel, here’s a guaranteed weight.gain recipe if you need some variety:
Glass of milk
2 eggs
Couple drops vanilla flavoring(optional)
Couple spoons of sugar or alternative
Blend. Tastes like southern homemade vanilla ice cream.
Joel,
Good job on the triathlon! For me, even though I have long-term goals, I do some things on a daily basis just to keep my “habit muscles” in shape. Pull-ups and push-ups are everyday items even though I can’t always add to the total. If I did I would be up to 500 pull-ups by now 🙂 But I feel like those repetitive type of habits help reinforce what I’m working on in other areas of my life.
Kurt
But creating that habit IS making you better by creating discipline & consistency. Amazing what habit-making can do isn’t it?
I started running about 3 weeks ago. The first day, I ran 5 minutes. That’s it. Then the next day, then the next I found I could go a little further. And further.
I’ve had to take last week off for health reasons, but starting back this week. I think I need to do GOWAD (Gallon Of Water A Day)…
Haha, GOWAD certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing. Just be careful not to do it all at once or you could start hallucinating (no joke)
Hey joel!
This is the first time i read your blog. I found it really good. Great job and the post was really powerful. I need to read few more post few i subscribe your blog.
Thanks Sudan. I appreciate you reading 🙂