Staying 'On Track'

Last week I was asked, “How do I stay on track?”.

It was an amazing conversation that I had with a newly made friend – other than about life, he was inquiring about his fitness.

He noted that previously he was in a good place when it came to going to the gym and riding his bike/exploring the outdoors. Recently though, his health took a backseat, and he hasn’t been spending too much, if any, time on the bike and taking on his fitness goals.

What we discovered – ways to approach fitness in a sustainable way and how to stay on track.

I do not believe that there is a set manual on how to go about fitness, however, I certainly know there are certain methods that have worked for me and have resonated for others. In this piece, I will go into these methods of how to stay on track.

First, I would like to touch on sustainability. This is one of the biggest keys when it comes to fitness, and quite frankly, anything in life. Whether it be relationships, hobbies, work, adventures, sustainability is a key ingredient into making these more a part of life than a single occurrence.

Sustainability comes through a couple factors. One is energy. Energy can come from many places – love, hate, anger, excitement, and so on. The most sustainable I will argue is through love. This is where the “love what you do” comes through. So, when it comes to fitness, there must be enjoyment in my humble opinion. Striving for a certain goal, image, capacity, will certainly get the job done, however, if there is a lack of enjoyment with it, I am afraid to often of what happens after that achievement.

This is where a second part of sustainability comes into play – the purpose. Once finding a purpose to said hobby, relationship, work, fitness, one can really hone in on the vision that this is providing and it all, for lack of better words, makes sense. With these two keys, staying ‘on track’ is very much possible.

Before getting into some of the approaches that work for me, I would like to note that there is a reason I put stay ‘on track’ in quotations. This is because we all know in life there are going to be times where we get derailed, and I am very huge believer of everything happens for a reason and that we are right where we need to be. This ultimately is our track! So, maybe this should be more of a ‘staying aware’ approach. Either way, let’s dive into it!

Step 1 to staying on track: Being immersed in the moment with purpose

With this, I told my friend, we already discovered that biking is very important to him, so let’s have this be the focus/purpose. Forget the diets and exercises, focus more on the biking and how in this exact moment we can build better towards really biking efficiently and ultimately one day competing in a triathlon like he mentioned. Whether that means sitting up straight now, stretching his legs now because the day is winding down, are being mindful of the food he’s ingesting and viewing it more as fuel than a reward. This will all translate to the higher purpose of biking and lead to better fitness.

Step 2: being kind to ourselves.

Easier said and written than done. I know. And am guilty. However, we all know how sometimes we talk to ourselves, we would never talk to others. This is key because our journeys are going to get derailed. With being kind, and accountable, to ourselves, we set a framework to take on our fitness in a much more efficient manner. In the end, we are not here to beat ourselves up, we are here to build ourselves up! What this ultimately does is gives us the energy to go about our journey. There are enough things in this world that can consume our energy, but ultimately, we are in control. Eliminating that harsh critic of ourselves can be tough at moments, and when you realize that the critic comes from a place that isn’t really you, this is when the magic happens. Focus on the build, then there really is no way not to be ‘on track’.

Finally, step 3: hopping on the train.

Whatever train it may be, and I mean whatever – I believe it is important to hop on. It is better to do than ponder. One might not know all the ways to train, or how to go about a relationship, or how to perform a hobby, but doing brings us one step closer. And the step closer is not necessarily to achievement, but rather to learning about ourselves.

This is the whole point of our ‘track’!

With one being onboard the journey, this gives appreciation and humility to just how amazing this opportunity of life is. Embracing this opportunity is the ultimate key to staying on track.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read this, and I hope it brought light to your day. If there is ever a time where you think I can help, please feel free to reach out to me via social (@mikeowczarek).

Our ‘tracks’ crossed and that is something I do not take for granted. All the best – thank you.