Episode 327 – The Importance of a Challenge and How To Set One Up for Yourself
Follow the Purple Patch Podcast at:
APPLE PODCASTS - SPOTIFY- AMAZON MUSIC - GOOGLE PODCASTS - YOUTUBE
Welcome to the Purple Patch Podcast!
This week, we discuss taking on a challenge and kickstarting your journey of transformation. This episode is filled with stories of achieving extraordinary accomplishments, from athletes winning championships to individuals overcoming health challenges and excelling in leadership. They all dared to commit to their journey of personal performance and embrace challenges. IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon showcases the value of embracing challenges with purpose, direction, and commitment.
While many people wish to achieve great things, they hesitate to commit to a challenge. Matt explores the reasons behind this hesitation and discusses how to overcome it. He offers encouragement to inspire you to take on a challenge and outlines the steps required to turn your aspirations into commitments and actions.
If you have any questions or feel inspired to continue the discussion, reach out to us at info@purplepatchfitness.com. Let us know that you listened to the show, and we'll be happy to set up a complimentary call to help you frame your journey.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 - 04:40 - Welcome and Episode Introduction
04:47 - 11:05 - The Meat and Potatoes: Part 1 - What makes a challenge?
11:07 - 34:42 - Part 2 - Values of a challenge
34:43 - 42:53 - Part 3 - The Roadmap
Purple Patch and Episode Resources
Purple Patch Video Podcast and More
FREE WEBINAR - Nail Your IRONMAN & 70.3 Training in Just 8-14 Hours Per Week
Learn more about our Tri Squad Program
Amplify your approach to nutrition with Purple Patch and Fuelin
We've reimagined indoor cycling - Find out more about Purple Patch Bike Live & On-Demand
Get a Free Taste of Purple Patch Strength
ORDER NOW - 2024 PURPLE PATCH APPAREL
Everything you need to know about the Purple Patch Methodology
Join the Purple Patch Team
The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit
Purple Patch Coaching Consultation
Learn more about our Tri Squad Program
This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch- Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20
Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt
Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program
Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running
Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching
Learn more about Purple Patch Strength Programming
Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events
Full Transcript
Matt Dixon 00:00
I'm Matt Dixon and welcome to the Purple Patch podcast. The mission of Purple Patch is to empower and educate every human being to reach their athletic potential. Through the lens of athletic potential, you reach your human potential. The purpose of this podcast is to help time-starved people everywhere integrate sports into their lives.
Matt Dixon 00:31
And welcome to the Purple Patch podcast as ever, your host, Matt Dixon. Today, we'll be telling you how to take on a challenge and how you can get going to kickstart your journey of transformation. This show is full of people achieving extraordinary things. We've discussed pros winning World Championships. We've dug into people who have emerged from ill health and mental health challenges to go on to find their recipe for personal performance. We've learned from high-performing executives who leverage sport to help them excel as leaders and from many, many other case stories. The common thread is that every person that we've highlighted on this show has dared to take on a challenge, lean in, commit, and embrace a personal performance journey. I can give you examples here. Tim Reed won a world championship. Marina, one of my favorites, lost 100 pounds before going on to complete a sedentary triathlon. And Ben, who navigated a mental health crisis, now excels in sport as well as in leadership. Sarah Piampiano got through the setback of a broken femur; the upper part of her leg went on to become one of the best professional triathletes in the world. Cecilia Davis Hayes, one of my favorite pros that I got to coach, balanced the rigors of medical school with the life of a world-class athlete. Sarah Gott and Sandy James are thriving in health and well into their 50s, managing the demands and chaos of supporting their children. The list goes on and on, but all of these examples were people who embraced the challenge, realized the value outside of their regular demands in life, and committed to a journey in which they could go through experiences that were going to bolster their ability to show up for what was important to them in life. They had purpose, direction, and commitment. It is a central driver for me, for you, and for everyone listening who wants to find sustained high performance, no matter what we're looking to perform in. Take on a challenge, but many people don't. They allow themselves to rely on random and loose commitments; there is no real framework to operate in. A lack of a compass often limits accountability. They often wish that they could accomplish great things, but they refrain from really leaning in and truly committing. Now we're going to unpack some of the reasons behind that today. But more important than that, I hope today I can not only encourage you but also inspire you to take on a challenge. I'm going to outline the steps that are required for you to not only dream but put a challenge into action. And so we are going to get down and dirty. We're going to apply today. I want to convert hopes, dreams, and aspirations into commitments and actions. Lean in and take on a challenge. It's all in today's meat and potatoes. Just before we get going, I'm going to build all of today's show around education. So I'm not going to interrupt with any promotions or sponsorships. I'm not going to talk about the purple patch programming, but it is enough to say right now, just before we get going on today's very hearty meat and potatoes, that if, after listening to today's show, you have any questions or you're inspired to continue the discussion with us, feel free to reach out. It's an invitation. All of our programs are at purplepatchfitness.com. We can be reached at info@purplepatchfitness.com. Make sure that you let them know that you listened to this show and that you're inspired to have a conversation. We're always happy to set up a complimentary call and discussion to answer any questions you have or help you frame your journey. Just feel free to reach out. One of the team members will set up a time to chat. Don't worry, we don't bite. And with that, it's time to dive in. Barry, it is your time, my friend. You are an excellent producer of this show, and I tell you now that it's time for the meat and potatoes.
Matt Dixon 04:47
Yes, the meat and potatoes. We are talking about challenges as ever. We are going to break this up into different sections, and the first section that we're going to discuss today is understanding what a challenge is. When it comes to performance, So we say, Let's set up a challenge. But what does that mean? So let's dissect it a little bit. What makes a challenge? For me as a coach, a challenge is an event or a goal that acts as your compass point. In other words, it's going to determine the direction and help you frame your performance journey. And from that challenge, from that goal, from that direction that you have, you and maybe your coach, mentor, or support crew, whoever is going on the journey with you, can equip and frame out a roadmap and a set of actions that are necessary for you to go on a journey to progress and ultimately complete that challenge. That's what a challenge is. It sets the direction and the direction and the path is going to inform the actions that you take. And so ideally, a really valuable challenge for you, depending on who you are and where you're starting, can provide a couple of things.
Matt Dixon 06:11
The first is that I like challenges, and I'll whisper this will scare you a little bit. In other words, it gets you out of your comfort zone. You're not sure, even if you put in your best effort, that you can truly accomplish it. A valuable challenge should get you out of your comfort zone. So there's less value in just choosing something that you know you can complete, and you just need to go through the motions. A really valuable challenge is something that gives you a little bit of fear. That's number one; I want you to remember that. The second is that a really valuable challenge is something that requires ongoing commitment over an extended period. So you need to commit to a journey at Purple Patch. A big saying that we always have is to embrace the journey. That's because it is a reservoir of lessons. It's the area where you can define, develop, and hone many of the traits that make up the rewards of taking on a challenge, and it is a progressive commitment over time, so that's important. So in other words, in this context, a challenge is not, when we think about this as a performance journey, something like having the courage to go for a swim in near-freezing water. It's uncomfortable, for sure, but all that is is short-term bravery. Instead, a challenge serves to set the roadmap, the actions required, and the commitment over time. And so therefore, with success, you're going to yield a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, and I also promise you a whole bunch of lessons. So we think about what a challenge is: setting it over time, getting out of your comfort zone, and selling a bunch of actions. Of course, the natural thing about this show is that we're going to think about sports events, etc., but it could be having the courage to open up your coffee shop. That's going to take you out of your comfort zone and take you on a journey, or I'll give you another real-life example that has nothing to do with sport. Sean Garrick, a former Purple Patch coach, is a wonderful guy. I just saw that he's taking on a personal challenge where he's gotten into theater. He has no background in theater, but he joined a group, went on a journey, practiced and trained, and now this week he is going to do his first production. So he's going to have to get up on stage in front of a large group of people and act. That is a challenge. It has nothing to do with what he does professionally, but I promise you, he's going to get a lot out of the journey so far and probably an immense amount of pride and satisfaction when he goes on that opening night. Best of luck, Sean. That's a fantastic thing to see. But of course, under the banner of this, I like challenges that take on the physical component, because you get all of that similar to what Sean has gone through, but you also get the promotion of healthy habits that improve your energy, your cognitive function, how you show up in daily life, your physical resiliency, and, of course, your longevity for the future. And so sports and fitness act as a wonderful crucible to extend the challenge, the lessons, and the physical promotion of health and performance globally as well. So that's why I have a real passion for people taking on challenges that include a physical aspect to them as well. But I guess the question is, do you need a challenge? So I say this is really. Important. This is valuable, as are the lessons here. But do you need to take on a challenge? You might be listening right now and thinking, I get what a challenge is, but I'm pretty good where I'm at. After all, I exercise, and I sleep pretty well for the most part. I eat sensibly. I don't need a challenge. Fine, okay, I can buy that, but in my observations, in my more than two decades of coaching, I've consistently seen the value and the performance catalysts that a true challenge serves. And I want to talk to you today about the value of a challenge. Why should you take on a challenge? And then I want to go and talk about creating a plan to try and accomplish that challenge that you set up for yourself. So I think that you do need a challenge if you're going to optimize and if you're going to set yourself on a journey of high performance. So let's transition to Part Two and discuss the values of a challenge.
Matt Dixon 11:07
So in part one, we identified and defined what a challenge is. Now let's talk about the values of a challenge. So as a reminder, a challenge—something a little scary—is going to get you out of your comfort zone; it's going to take you on a journey you're not sure if you can be successful on. Am I just being nasty? No, I'm a coach. I'm guiding you on a path where you can evolve and improve, and the only way you're going to do that is if you do get to that place of growth, which is in the place of discomfort. No matter if I'm talking about an athlete who's focused on improving your skills, a leader who's seeking to show up better across life, or, anyone looking to improve something so important for you, I encourage you to avoid taking a random approach and instead define direction. As human beings, we do better with that. Having an operating framework is going to drive effectiveness. It's going to drive your accountability to yourself. It's going to ensure that you can commit to something with direction, and your chances of success, as I consistently see, are radically improved. Here are some of the key values that I see as a coach when I see people committing to a challenge.
Matt Dixon 12:31
Number one: getting out of your comfort zone. There's a truth, and if you consider this, in any arena, you only grow when you're uncomfortable. We're often hesitant to lean into commitments that make us uncomfortable. But the truth is, this is how we grow and improve, and many adults are seldom outside of their professional lives, where it's somewhat forced upon us. Seldom do we go outside of our comfort zone. If we're comfortable going for a run, we go for a run. If we like to practice guitar, we practice guitar. But how often do you suddenly say, I'm going to learn how to paint, or, like Sean did, I'm going to go and join the theater? I'm going to do something that's well outside of my comfort zone. Now, as children, we do that all the time. It's called play, and play is the perfect relatively low-risk environment where we can test, we can practice, learn from successes and failures, and develop. But as adults, we tend to fall into a comfort zone. We go to work, we come home, we play with our kids, and we go to dinner, or we watch a movie, or maybe we choose a sport that we're pretty comfortable with. We have an exercise routine, whatever it is, but taking on a challenge is the best opportunity for growth outside of what we have to do in our professional lives. So I think that's a big part of the reason that you see a lot of busy executives and time-starved individuals that manage a lot of competing demands, say, I'm going to go and train for a marathon. I'm going to try and climb Mount Everest. It's because they intuitively understand that growth is going to occur. It's going to get them out of their comfort zone. It's going to force them for operational effectiveness and for great time management, and they're going to go on a journey where they're doing something that is going to deliver a sense of accomplishment but also a host of lessons. So the first benefit of taking on challenges is to get you out there growing. And there is nothing better for the brain than the body than growth in the comfort zone. So that's important. And think about this. I said that we're hesitant to get out of that comfort zone, but I want you to try and consider right now anything in your life that's valuable to you, that has importance, that's come to you easily, without much effort. Is there anything in which it just lands on the lap? You said, I treasure this. Almost everything that we cherish requires work, and so I invite you to not retreat from the challenge but embrace it, to lean into the discomfort.
Matt Dixon 15:36
A second value related to this is the opportunity for a challenge—for you to set new limits and challenge your body and mind to stretch to new limits. You have the opportunity to elevate and improve your health, your fitness, the results and sense of accomplishment, your daily energy, everything. As human beings, most of us who care about performance and how we show up in life want our lives, which are quite often big, to get even bigger, to grow, and to improve. And the only way that's going to happen is if you set a path, define it, have a compass, and go on the journey. So the challenge represents the thing that is going to enable you to improve and reach new limits. So if you watch a movie, you may have just recently watched the Olympics, and you're inspired. You don't need to or want to become an Olympian, but you do want to grow and improve. And so a challenge is the thing that is going to help you set new limits, which is important.
Matt Dixon 16:45
And finally, number three, the challenge itself is the thing that is the stake in the ground, in other words, related to getting out of your comfort zone and setting new limits. The challenge is the thing that guides your direction and informs your focus and your actions within a roadmap. And without direction and without that challenge, you will be rudderless. What do they say? Wherever you go, there you are. Well, if you randomly go places, you can kind of be everywhere but nowhere at the same time. And so a challenge for you is the thing that defines direction, and we benefit from that whenever we go on a journey. So if we apply these principles to performance and health, what are the outcomes that we see with folks who do commit to a challenge? Here's what occurs, and remember we started the show: Tim Reed, Marina losing all of that weight, Ben navigating a mental health crisis—all of these stories—what are some of the outcomes that we tend to see when people do have the courage and ultimately commit to the challenge? Well, the first thing they achieve. They achieve their goals. And what that does is build a sense of accomplishment, pride, and satisfaction. It fosters enjoyment because it's really rewarding and, quite often, missed. It can also help develop inner confidence, a pathway to even future growth. It's no wonder that every high achiever that I've worked with in business or sports loves challenges. Is goal-driven. It's because they realize that is the catalyst for growth.
Matt Dixon 18:48
The second outcome that we see is that if a challenge is appropriate, then we should see an outcome, particularly under the banner of a physical challenge. In other words, under the banner of fitness, health, and sport, if the challenge is appropriate, we should see another outcome beyond pride, satisfaction, and the development of confidence. That's why we should see the development and improvement of the baseline of health, a physical-ready state, what we call the performance base layer, because if the actions are appropriate, then we should see our overall physical readiness improve. You should have better and more stable energy. You should have an improved baseline of health. You should have better immunity for major diseases. You should have increased cognitive function, or the ability to process information, access memories, and make decisions in a better and faster manner. In other words, we should be equipped to show up better, and you can attribute that better energy and cognitive function to anything important to you, but this challenge is the vehicle in which we're developing that. And the third value that you get is the journey itself. By going on this challenge, you're setting a path for your actions and bringing you out of your comfort zone. The journey itself is a passage for you to hone and improve many of the traits that make up what I call a high-performance mindset. It requires commitment; it requires you to prioritize and focus. It's going to force you to be adaptable because it will include roadblocks. You have to showcase mental and physical resilience and many, many more along the way. And that's the value. That's the common thread between the Marinas losing weight, Tim Reed winning a world championship, and Ben overcoming a mental health crisis: they get physically healthier, they get stronger in their brains, and they develop confidence, and a sense of well-being, pride, and satisfaction, and that encapsulates becoming a higher-performing human being. So with all of that there, the value is clear to see.
Matt Dixon 21:19
So why do so many avoid taking on a challenge? Well, to be honest, it's perfectly normal. Many of us do. Some people don't feel the need for it and don't have much interest, but I think they're missing a big part of an opportunity to grow and improve and show up better in life. But there are several deeper reasons as well. Firstly, you may think that you're too busy with too many other competing demands and priorities in life, and you think about a challenge, be it deciding to train and race a marathon, or maybe building habits where you're going to walk 20 minutes after dinner every night, or perhaps even taking on a challenge to climb Everest or compete in your first 5k, whatever it is. And my first instinct is that I'm already too busy. This is just going to be another thing to add to life. I don't have the time for that. Well, it's not true, but that's the instinct that we have. What we start to realize is that the busiest people, who are high performers, all take on these challenges. And so maybe we should, too, because we all have the same 168 hours every week. By prioritizing a set number—not many hours, but a set number of hours—to this challenge every week, it's proven that it unlocks your effectiveness and how you're sharp across all of the other hours of the week. And so it's an investment, but that's one of the reasons many people think I'm too busy.
Matt Dixon 22:50
A second reason that I see is intimidation. After all, it's not easy to get out of your comfort zone, and it's not unusual to have a fear of maybe personal exposure, a little bit of a fear of failure. If I take on this challenge and I do it, what are people going to think if I struggle, if I fail, if I can't get it done? And so we tend to protect ourselves and hold ourselves back. You know what? I'm pretty happy in this comfortable place, but we're not going to grow when we have that. And finally, sometimes people are hesitant because of prior failures. Maybe you've tried to take on a challenge but you haven't followed through, or you've fallen off the roadmap at some stage, for whatever reason, and that happens, but let me provide you with perspective on these, as I mentioned, the busiest and most successful people that I know that I've worked with universally, absolutely, universally. There isn't anyone that doesn't apply to this rule. The most successful people that I've worked with love to maintain a challenge around their health and performance. This is universal. I just want to pause and think about that. We might feel like we're busy. You might feel you'll have too many competing demands, but the most successful people that I've met and worked with who are managing colossal demands, universally every single one of them, prioritizes their health and loves to take on a challenge. The reason I believe they do this is because it ensures that the challenge ensures a prioritization of key performance habits that they understand are required to help them perform in other areas of life. They also appreciate that that challenge is the very thing—not to dump on top of life but to integrate into life—that forces their effectiveness. It forces prioritization. It is a driver for them to remove the stuff that is not productive. So they have to become highly effective to be successful. And counterintuitively, that comes together, and that framework is the very thing that gives them time back. And this is where it's counterintuitive. You're adding a challenge in the form of commitments to an already busy life. And it is that addition that unlocks capacity, and it isn't until you feel that and experience it that you will be wholly dedicated to it. But I tell you, every successful, high-performing person that I've worked with absolutely commits to this. High performers always have a challenge.
Matt Dixon 25:56
How about the fear of failure? Well, I think that it's important for us to pause when we think about this and realize that this is not a journey in which we are comparing ourselves to others. You need to compare yourself to others. This is a journey that is yours, from your starting point to where you want to go. This is self-improvement. This isn't competition in sports. This isn't trying to qualify for the Olympics, win Olympic gold, qualify for the Hawaiian World Championship, or get on the podium. It's not about that. This is a journey for me to improve myself. This is a journey for you to improve yourself from wherever you're at right now to wherever you want to go. And so the benefit that you're going to get, that we're all going to get, emerges much more from the day-to-day, weekly commitment. In other words, the journey is more than any destination you can imagine. And so if you can just build enough courage to commit and take the first steps, they don't need to be giant leaps. They need to be little mini-steps that you can take over a long period to progress and slowly, before you realize it, realize that you've gone through a transformation, and you will be amazed when you do that at how others, far from judging you, actually want to help, are willing to support you, and even foster a sense of accountability along the way. And so as we go through this, I find quite often that the most inspirational people that I've worked with are not the ones who are the highest achievers that accomplish the World Championships but are the ones that dare to put aside the struggles, to step up, to share their personal goals, and to aim to improve.
Matt Dixon 28:11
Let me give you a really good example. Tim Reed is a wonderful athlete, world champion, terrific, inspired a lot of people, and fantastic. But Marina, she's never going to be a world champion, but she'd never exercised in her life, and she said, I'm an athlete. I'm going to become an athlete. And over two years, I lost 100 pounds. She inspired vastly more people just by her actions, her commitment, and her evolution and journey; it was relatable. And so you have the opportunity—if you've struggled before, if you're worried about what people think—to be a lightning rod of inspiration. And that's going to be incredibly rewarding. All of us have the potential to be champions—champions for ourselves. And if you've tried this before, if you've been inspired on other occasions, and you've fallen off the wagon or failed before, that's okay, because so has every single champion. That's a part of the journey. What happens when you fall off, you fail, you get up again, and you make this one a success? I'm sure at some stage you've seen enough movies of accomplishments out of struggles, and I'm sure it provided some short-term inspiration. Well, now this is the chance to go on and create your movie. Go and thrive and inspire yourself. And that's the value.
Matt Dixon 29:50
But there's one more thing, one more catalyst, a twister, to magnify and create an even. Bigger impact for yourself. How do you amplify your results? It's not just about you taking on a challenge; take on a challenge with others. Apply a team mindset. I believe this is something I've spent the last 20 minutes talking about: the value of a challenge, defining what it is, and what it's going to give you. And it's pretty compelling. But if you want to get even more, become part of a team and do it with others. By taking on a challenge with others. You start to enjoy or start to employ the elements of teamwork, support, and accountability. Now this might be—you're just one person. Maybe you're doing it with your partner or spouse, your best mate, your coworker, someone from the community, or perhaps you're becoming a part of a group. It's your journey, still, but sharing it is going to give you outsized results. It's going to make the journey more fun. You're going to get bigger rewards. You've got a much higher opportunity for success. By doing this and taking on this challenge as a part of a group or a team, you get the trifecta of all elements of performance: you're going to build physical health, your performance base layer, and you're going to develop through the experiences the traits that make up high performance. And you're going to have an amplifier team. You're going to feel a part of something, and that's going to foster greater success.
Matt Dixon 31:41
Let me show you a really quick personal case study on this. I'm a pretty hard worker, but the truth is that when it comes to this stuff, I'm inherently relatively lazy if I don't have direction if I don't have a path, and if I don't have some form of external accountability. And so, a couple of years ago, I thought of deciding to go and do a trail running race. Let's go and take on a challenge of 50 kilometers—something that's pretty different relative to my weaknesses in my sport of choice, which was triathlon, swimming, biking, and running. The run was my weakest point. I run like a donkey dipped in cement. So I got out of my comfort zone and said I'm going to go and try and do 50 kilometers. But I didn't really follow through because I didn't share it with anyone, and I stayed fit and ran consistently, but I didn't grow. It wasn't a stake in the ground. All it was was a thought, and it wasn't until I registered for an event with my mate, Pete, that suddenly I had a real challenge. And I didn't sign up for a 50-kilometer I signed up for a 50-mile race—almost 20 additional miles—and I did it with my friend Pete. There was my team. Now, why was I successful in adhering to a program, following through, and racing that race? I don't care where I came from. I can't remember where I came from, but I had an internal sense of accomplishment, and I yielded all of the benefits. But why was it successful? Well, I had a shared journey, and I was scared. I wasn't sure I could run 50 miles, but so was my mate, Pete, and so what we set up was a very loose system of accountability and support, despite seldom running together, we shared the journey. It became an anchor of our communication, and we worked together, albeit often independently, towards the goal. And when the race came, it became fun. Both of our families joined us. It was up in Oregon. We had a cracking weekend. And then, of course, afterward, we spent way too much time telling each other our own stories and examples of struggles, peaks, and valleys, and, of course, a healthy dose of heroism along the way. In other words, it helped me adhere to the program and navigate the journey, and it helped him and us. So if you want to amplify your chances of success, get more out of it, and get to your best performance, then make sure you're embracing the concept of team. Become a part of something. Don't go it alone. Alrighty. So with that, if you've got your challenge and you understand why and what you're getting out of it, now what do you do with that? You've identified it; now what are the actions?
Matt Dixon 34:43
Part three is the roadmap for your challenge. Imagine this. You bought into it. You sign up for your challenge. You thought about it, and you've decided this is it. Maybe it's 30 days where you're going to nail daily hydration, or maybe it's a 5k, or you might decide to complete a half Ironman, or you're going to climb Everest. It doesn't matter what it is, but you are going to commit to a challenge. And you decide, right? This is it. I'm doing it. Great. So you go to the page for the $5,000 and you register; you click on it, and it's done. Now what? Well, the first thing I want to say is, good for you, great stuff, rock and roll. You've already won. You've signed up for something that scares you a little bit, where you feel challenged physically and mentally, and you're not so sure if you might be able to succeed in this. But next, the first thing is, who are you going to enlist? Ask around. So you want to find your team? I think that's the first thing about it. And maybe it's like me, my mate Pete, or maybe it's a part of a group in an organization. And that could be online, something like Purple Patch Fitness, where we have a great online global community to foster that sense of belonging, or it might be a group in person, but get your sense of team. Ask around, get someone else who's willing to take on the challenge with you, and then from there, you have the destination in mind, which is not the destination of your performance journey; it's just the destination of what success looks like. And from that point, you want to work backward from your challenge date, and you want to create a plan.
Matt Dixon 36:30
Now, quite often, you'll create that plan with your team or your partner in that challenge, and there are lots of resources out there to help you understand a good program. We have coaches who can help you, where you can design the appropriate training program to get you ready for if it's a physical challenge, but also help you with the supporting elements around sleep, nutrition, hydration, recovery, and components that ensure that you can be consistent and successful on the journey. Now, coaches at Purple Patch can help you with a training program ranging from a walking challenge to a daily hydration challenge to an Ironman and everything in between. And I promise you that if you want to yield the mindset, the physical readiness, and the sense of accomplishment, the second thing you want to do is broaden your perspective. What tends to happen for most people is that they decide to take on a challenge and let's just make up a half marathon, and very quickly they become myopic. What training sessions do I need to do to get ready for this half-marathon? Physical, training, readiness, running consistently, mileage, hours, and all of that stuff. But if you're going to be successful, the workouts are only 50% of the equation. All of the other supporting habits are critical. And then the third element: once you've built out your roadmap, you've considered what is necessary; perhaps you've worked with a coach to set out the landscape ahead. Now you're ready to get going, and if you want to get going, you're listening to the show. I'm assuming that you're time-starved, and so if you're time-starved, we want to ensure that you embrace the central catalyst of your effectiveness because you've got a busy life already with lots of competing demands, and now you're adding this challenge. So you need to unlock effectiveness. The first habit and practice that you're going to put in at the start of any week is what we call the Sunday special, where you plan your week out, and look at all of the nonnegotiable components of your work life, all of the commitments around your family, friends, social life, kids, etc., and then you integrate and calendar and commit to the actions that are necessary that week to take you a step on the journey towards your ultimate goal. And that is how you start to unlock adherence and execution. And that first step must be a step from your current starting point. So many people jump ahead too quickly, and they try to accelerate to the destination, and that's where things go wrong. It doesn't need to be seismic; it needs to be a step. And so your roadmap is such an important part of the process; your team, let's call it that, is a critical supporting network. And then getting organized and taking a very small step is the first way to gradually, over time, build a platform. With that in mind, then you go and get busy doing.
Matt Dixon 40:06
And the last words I'll say are that, as you navigate the journey, you're going to need to be flexible, you're going to have to pivot, and you're going to have to shift your schedule around. You're going to probably have to take care of sick kids or maybe some competing demands at work. And this is all part of building resilience. It's all a chapter in helping hone a high-performance mindset. And so, don't let this challenge consume your thoughts. Don't let yourself feel like if you are sick or you have to go and travel for work and you feel like you're off course, just get back on course, because if you can build consistency over time, you're going to feel better and better and better and take little steps, little steps, little steps, and then you can be successful. And so I finished this today. I hope that I can say to you, congratulations. You're signing up for something outside of your comfort zone; you're already gaining a high-performance mindset trait because you're defining commitment. Now all you need to do is adhere and navigate, and it's going to serve you on this journey as well as the journeys ahead. Take the initial step towards transformation. I'll see you next week. Take care.
Matt Dixon 41:21
Guys, thanks so much for joining, and thank you for listening. I hope that you enjoyed the new format. You can never miss an episode by simply subscribing. Head to the Purple Patch channel on YouTube, and you will find it there, and you can subscribe. Of course, I'd like to ask you, if you will subscribe, to also share it with your friends, and it's really helpful if you leave a nice, positive review in the comments. Now, if you have any questions, let me know. Feel free to add a comment, and I will try my best to respond and support you on your performance journey. And, as we commence this video podcast experience, if you have any feedback at all, as mentioned earlier in the show, we would love your help in helping us to improve. Simply email us at info@purplepatchfitness.com, or leave it in the comments of the show on the purple patch page, and we will get you dialed in. We'd love constructive feedback. We are in a growth mindset, as we like to call it, so feel free to share with your friends. But as I said, let's build this together. Let's make it something special. It's really fun. We're trying hard to make it a special experience, and we want to welcome you into the Purple Patch community. With that, I hope you have a great week. Stay healthy, have fun, keep smiling, and do whatever you do. Take care.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
challenge, journey, comfort zone, improve, performance, worked, people, commit, life, sport, patch, commitment, purple, actions, accomplishment, inspired, health, successful, coach, support