Lessons Learned From Saying Yes To a 5:45am Cycling Class

Recently, I was in the gym and I read a sign advertising a cycling class that is held Monday- Friday at 5:45am. Although I am not an avid cycler, the thought came to my mind that participating in this class every day for a week would allow me to make significant headway towards my fitness goals. At the same time, I also had thoughts that tried to deter me: “that’s too early”, “you don’t cycle”, and, “you don’t have the discipline to do that every day”.

I was reminded that whenever an obstacle presents itself, you can either say yes or no. If you say “no” your life will stay the same or diminish. If you say “yes”, you have the opportunity to create a meaningful life.

I decided to say “yes” to participating in the 5:45am cycling class everyday for a week.

Here are 7 lessons I learned about achievement, focus,and resilience:

1. Don’t wait on the motivation to get started. With the exception of the first day, when my alarm went off each morning I did not feel like going to the cycling class. I decided to go anyway. Once I arrived at the class each day and actually started cycling, the feeling of motivation followed. If we wait on the motivation to start tasks, then we will not ever get anything done. The key is to get started and the motivation will follow.

2. Don’t compare yourself to others. The cycling class had people in it with a wide range of fitness levels. It ranged from people who were very fit and have been cycling for years, to people like me who were for the most part out of shape and just starting out. Although temping, it would not have been healthy for me to compare my progress and ability to those who have been cycling for years. Don’t compare yourself to others unless it is for inspiration. Remember you are on your own journey in life and everyone else is on theirs. Decide to be at peace with your progress. Your best is your best. Focusing on where you are in your own progress cultivates confidence. Comparing yourself to others can trigger thoughts of insecurity and discouragement.

3. Learn from those more experienced than you. About 10 minutes into the class, the instructor got off his bike and walked over to me. He pointed out that I was not doing the proper technique and showed me ways I could cycle more effectively. Making the proper adjustments maximized my time and prevented me from getting hurt. Whatever your goal, seek out people who are more experienced than you in areas you desire to grow in. Decided to practice humility.

4. As we narrow our focus on specific goal, other goals may need to take less priority.In order for me to wake up on time for the cycling class, I had to get to bed earlier. This ultimately meant that there were some things I needed to let go in order to set myself up to succeed the following day. There is only so much time in a day. When you decided to focus in on a goal, be prepared to let other goals and/or activities shift priority for a season. As one of my mentors always says “You can do it all, but you can’t do it all right now.” Spreading yourself too thin can create stress and is counterproductive.

5. In a supportive environment we can accomplish more than we think we can.

With the encouragement and inspiration of my instructor and class members, I was able to push myself harder and cycle longer than I thought I could. Just when I thought I wanted to quit, the instructor would give some encouragement that inspired me to continue to work hard. Surround yourself with people who believe the best in you and want the best for you. Consider hiring a life coach.

6. Focus on the overall victory. On Friday, I did not go to the cycling class because I was feeling sick. Later on that day, I was tempted to get down and hard on myself for missing a day. I remembered that the true victory was in me going 4 out of 5 days because I never done that before. Life is short. Give yourself some grace. I made up the day I missed over the weekend.

7. The pain of victory feels better than the pain of defeat. When the weekend arrived, my body was very sore; however, it was a good pain. I felt victorious. I thought about what would have happened if I did not start and let the voices of negativity win. I would have felt defeated. As it has been said, there are there are two types of pain in life the pain of disciple and the pain of defeat. I will take the pain for discipline any day.

I continue to participate in the cycling class regularly and constantly refer back to these lessons to help me stay on track. I have also found that these lessons can be applicable to reaching any goal.

Coaching Question: What is a goal you have you have been putting off because you are waiting for the motivation?

Action step: What is small step that you can take today that will move you toward to reaching that goal?

#cultivatingconfidencewithcoleman