Set Yourself up for Success

Let’s face it, sometimes, @*&$ just happens.

Building resilience takes us outside of our comfort zone

We’re in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and things just go sideways.

We’ve all been there.

And yet, if we’re honest with ourselves, there’s often a good reason why things panned out the way they did. If we work backwards, step by step, we can see that it’s inevitable that we ended up where we did…

So, what to do?

How do we avoid outcomes we don’t want?

Firstly, we think through potential scenarios, including those we don’t want.

Yes, it’s time to ditch the rose-colored glasses and consider what might go wrong, to avoid it happening.

Secondly, we set things in place to help steer us towards what we want.

We set ourselves up for success.

In 2003 I climbed El Capitan, the 3000ft vertical rock face in Yosemite National Park.

To do so required a staggering 900 pull-ups each day.

For three days…

How do you even begin to train for that?

Here’s what I did.

I got hold of one of those pull-up bars that goes over a door frame and fixed it above a doorway between the living room and bedroom, so that every time I went through that door, there it was…

I could then either do the pull-ups, or not; there was no setup involved, no driving to the gym as the bar was right there. If I ignored it, and failed on El Capitan, I’d know that in that moment I’d chosen to roll the dice, and that’s not what I wanted…

By placing the pull-up bar in my way, I set myself up.

For success.

What are you setting yourself up for?

How can you rearrange things (your schedule, your commute, your refrigerator) to put the things you want in your way?

So that you’re set up for success.

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Archived Comments

1 Comments

1. martin says:

   November 26, 2016 at 1:00 pm

   Cheers Warren!

   After we met in Austin TX, many years ago, and you inspired me to climb Killy; I’ve often mentioned your “2,700” pull–ups to inspire others -and me when needed..

   I also loved your “resilience” piece and have used that to pick myself up at times as well………..

   Keep up the great work inspiring us through both actions and words!

   Best,

   Martin