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Writer's pictureMorgan Bullock

You're Trying Waayyy Too Hard.



stressed out woman

Maybe you're trying too hard. As athletes, we spent much of our lives learning to "give it all we got." But perhaps that's burning us out and keeping us from living our best lives. Think about when you performed your best. Were you super focused and trying your hardest to force yourself to win? Or were you loose, confident, and relying on your muscle memory to do the job? I'm going to guess the latter. The fact of the matter is that flowing through life and allowing yourself to be loose is the best way to live to receive your desires.


This isn't to say neglect the work necessary to develop muscle memory and self-confidence but to encourage more ease and flow into every aspect of your goals and overall well-being.


At work and in business:

- Instead of going all out, learn to release the pressure and focus. Learn to take your time and know you are naturally gifted and competent enough to complete deliverables.

- "Muscle memory" shows up as systems in your work. Develop systems to keep you from spending 100% of your mental effort on tasks.

- Forcing opportunities and stressing yourself about progression creates an environment of worry and exhaustion. Know that what is for you is for you. Your work and experiences have prepared you for the opportunities coming your way.


In your diet:

- Restrictions are exhausting and make you feel confined. How about making it a goal to get 85% of your food choices right? This will release the pressure of being 100 perfect all the time and still allow you to see progress and feel proud.


In your workouts:

- First, accept your body exactly where it is. Loving your body for how it's constantly working to keep you alive, and sometimes other little humans alive, is amazing. Always nitpicking or wanting it to be something different or, dare I say, "perfect" is doing you a disservice

- It's unnecessary to always go to failure or even to exhaust yourself with every workout. There's no merit in doing something that you dread. Killing yourself was essential for your sport, but it isn't required to get in shape. Learn to find what you enjoy, slowly improve, find your flow, and learn to be proud of yourself for simply moving.


In my current pregnancy, I have worked out more than ever since I hung my cleats up ten years ago. For the first time, I haven't looked at exercise as punishment or a catalyst to get me to a "perfect" body. I'm looking for something other than results. Instead, I'm searching for fun and consistency. As my focus shifted, so have my results.


The cool thing about giving 85% is that you will continue to improve. You'll look up one day and notice that your current 85% is equivalent to your 100% a year ago, without stress, exhaustion, and intensity.


So what are you trying too hard in? Where can you give a solid 85%? How much freedom can you start to see for your life with this practice?

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