A Cyclist’s Approach to Big Challenges: A Simple Lesson From the Road

A couple of years ago, I spent 3 warm sunny weeks cycling the hills of Tuscany.  I went with the goal of not only exploring and enjoying all the region has to offer, but also with a desire to improve my climbing strength and technique. Surprisingly, the most valuable thing I learned was not so much technical, but mental.  When riding long climbs like a big mountain pass, my coach advised me to focus the gaze just beyond the bike.  In looking just that little bit ahead, I could see what I needed to move safely forward, and at the same time, it meant that I perceived less of an incline and could focus on just moving to that spot and then to the next and the next and so on.  If instead one looks far up the road, the climb appears to be steeper, longer and in general more daunting such that the mind immediately starts to send negative signals to the body.  Slow down, this is too hard, there is no way I can make it to the end. The impact of how we see the hill impacts significantly whether we feel we can keep chugging along until we reach the top or find ourselves instead of giving up in defeat long before we get there.  

I have since found that same approach to work well with major projects.  Starting the process to become a certified Executive Coach, requiring completion of a yearlong rigorous course, multiple exams both written and verbal, recorded coaching demonstrations, mentor coaching and hours of practice with colleagues and later clients seemed daunting when first looking at all it entailed.  But with a clear idea of where I wanted to arrive in the end, something like choosing which mountain to climb, and in this case the “mountain” was to become a fully certified Executive Coach, I could break the process down into consecutive and much more manageable parts and focus on one at a time.  Enroll in the course, later find a practice partner, even further into it hire a mentor coach etc.  In that way, I could figure out and then knock off each step in turn rather than becoming overwhelmed and stressed by the totality of the project.  Further by avoiding much of the negative self-talk that comes with feeling overwhelmed, such as doubting whether it is doable, questioning whether it is worth the effort, I could bring my best effort to each part of the process. 

The same approach that brought me and my bike to the top of Passo della Consuma (1050 m) after more than an hour and a half of steady climbing helped me to achieve my coaching certification in record time.