Re-framing: The art of being awesome when the chips are down

Don’t you just hate people who never get ‘down’? Or those people who seem to have all the luck? Because all the luck you personally have is bad, right?

My six year old was recently telling me “You make your own luck” and he’s about 88.2% correct.

I really buy into the idea that:

Luck = Preparation + Opportunity

Preparation is something that is (almost) completely under your own control.

Opportunity is about seizing the potential to be the right person in the right place at the right time. Or to use more made up statistics, opportunity is 90% turning up.

Whilst I don’t deny that there is the random event factor and that a lot of us have things dumped on us, many take these as the reason that they ‘don’t achieve their potential’. I’d argue that you don’t achieve your potential because you don’t understand what potential is.

When I had my stroke in the summer of 2013, I’d already re-framed my life once that year, but then had to re-frame my re-frame. Clearly having a stroke isn’t something you just man up and work through. In some ‘real luck’ the stroke was minor as these things are measured and with a simple heart operation I would eventually be allowed to resume my previous life. But… as I got well and before I was cleared to return to work and training I did have a lot of time on my hands. I used this time to progress academically, among other things, becoming Precision Nutrition and Functional Movement Screen qualified. Yes, I’m sure my max deadlift suffered and it took a while to rebuild my business but the diversion has made me a better trainer.

Potential:

adjective;
Having or showing the capacity to turn into something in the future.

“a campaign to woo potential customers.”

noun;
Latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness.

“a young broadcaster with great potential.”

So the achievement of your potential is something you have to work for, something you have to seize. It is not a given, therefore it must be ‘taken’.

I’ve been somewhat quiet in recent months. A move of house, city and occupation has created a lot of turmoil. Could I have kept blogging? Hell, yes. But I chose to prioritise other things. I didn’t say “I don’t have the time” but rather “ I chose to prioritise X and Y over blogging”.

Time is just like money. You choose what to spend it on. There are things you ‘have’ to spend it on such as housing, food and toothpaste (you do brush your teeth don’t you?). But once you’ve spent time on eating, washing, working, taking the kids to school, etc., you get to choose what to spend it on.

For those who follow me on Instagram and Facebook you’ve been pretty much bombarded with pictures of what was once a double garage but is now a fully functioning gym (with more ‘functional equipment’ than most mainstream gyms I might add!). This would have been impossible to do without the familial support that I asked for (thanks guys!).

Currently I’m spending 4 days a week looking after my two and six year olds. The preparation for the garage was planned out with my two year old daughter who now knows the inside of B&Q almost as well as the staff that work there. The opportunity was seized by asking my family to look after the kids on weekends whilst I spent 8 hour days in the cold garage drilling, painting and fixing. The result:

 

 

 

What about training? The awesome thing about a home gym is that it is always there. With a little bit of planning it is entirely possible to do Grease the Groove style training on ‘grinding lifts’ whilst also looking after the kids.

Notes on safety: Ballistic lifts next to young kids are out of the question due to the safety implications. But correctly set up deadlifts, kettlebell presses or pull ups are entirely safe (in fact the kids even want to take part!). Recently there was a video of relatively new mums working out, I thought this was awesome. But then one of the mums was doing a barbell snatch whilst her 2-3 yr old was on her tricycle in the background, I can’t help but feel this was a safety violation… but I digress!

Neither of these two factors, preparation or opportunity, were thrown in my lap. I had to live up to the potential I have and plan for them to happen. I had to seize them. In a kind of social karma, I was helped out, so I realise that it will be my responsibility to pay back in the future. But I will most likely be in a stronger position to do so because I didn’t sit on my ass watching Peppa Pig and eating dry Cheerios with my daughter when given the chance! (Ok, maybe once….. or twice…. ok, it was three times, but she had a cold and just needed cuddles!).

Ok, some of you will say I was ‘lucky’ enough to be in a situation where my wife was working and I ‘got to stay at home looking after the kids’. Or, ‘it’s easy for you man, because you’re…. whatever’. Exactly… whatever man. That ‘luck’ was earned, it was worked for, it was taken.

So I give you a challenge. Yes, it can be difficult, but I want you to try. Choose one ‘problem’ in your life but instead of viewing it as an obstacle I want you to view it as an opportunity.

Car broken down and you need to take the bus to and from work for a week? Sounds to me like an opportunity to read that book your wife keeps telling you to read.

Boss cutting your hours? Sure, this sucks, but is it a chance to develop a Lego club for your kids school and then expand that into a small source of extra income?

Got your parent in-laws visiting the grandkids? Sounds to me like a chance to convert your garage into a gym!

Freezer has broken and all your food is going to go off? Visit your immediate neighbours and offer up free food! They may even offer to just keep it in theirs and give it back! Or… food party at your house! This is a chance to catch up with friends you haven’t seen in a long time. Food is historically a social ice breaker!

Choose you problem and let me know how it goes.

Be fit, be strong, be happy!