Set Yourself Up For Success

Every six weeks I get a new workout plan and they typically have things I haven’t done before. When I start a new plan the first week takes the longest because I have to figure out where my limits are. I have to find a benchmark to set goals for the next five weeks.

Today’s workout called for bench presses, which was easy. I have done those for the past six weeks. I know exactly what weight and how many reps I’m capable of. So I knew where to start.

But all the other exercises were new. I didn’t know how heavy I could go. I didn’t know how much I could do. Normally I would think I could do something heavier than I was actually capable of, so I would start there. But that just sets me up for failure and makes me have to go backwards (which I hate). Instead, today I set myself up for success, and started lower than I thought and worked my way up. On some things I underestimated my starting limits so just increased the weight with each set. But on others I couldn’t do the maximum number of reps, showing me that I was right on target.

This made me wonder how often I set myself up for failure in other areas of my life. I add so much weight to my plate that I end up not succeeding and having to go backwards. What would happen if instead of overestimating my capabilities, I gave myself room to succeed then increase my capacity? I’m always challenging myself, which isn’t bad, but if my starting point is unattainable, then failure is inevitable.

Can you relate? Do you set yourself up for failure or success? I’m not saying don’t challenge yourself, but when you don’t know where your limits are, you may tend to over extend yourself.

Find your benchmark first, then add more. Set realistic expectations, and set yourself up for success.

Make it a great week!