Master Yoda to the rescue again! This is without doubt my favourite quote, and one which I have taught my kids…although I still don’t think they get it!
You see, there is a subtle difference between doing, and trying to do.
When you do, you have no doubt that you will be successful. You go into the activity with a plan which you execute, and you put 100% into it because it is what you are doing.
When you try, you have already expressed doubt that you can do the thing you are trying, otherwise you would just be doing. By expressing that doubt you are already mentally readying yourself for failure, so your chances of success are already significantly less than 100%, and the more you doubt you can do the thing you are trying, the less likely you are to succeed.
I know for a fact when one of my kids say they will try a new food it is already 90% likely they won’t like it immediately…even if it turns out in 5 minutes time that they actually do! They have talked themselves into not liking it before even tasting it.
So we need to “do” and not “try”.
The Formula for Guaranteed Success
As soon as we commit to “doing” we can follow the “formula for guaranteed success”, which I was taught years ago and which I pass on to anyone who ever works with me:
- Know where you are
- Know where you want to be
- Know how to get from where you are to where you want to be
- Do it!
With this formula in mind I took on a personal challenge last weekend with 3 former colleagues – to walk 106km around the Isle of Wight (in 24 hours – we added the last bit).
Applying the Formula
Having previously walked the Yorkshire 3 Peaks in 12 hours, and the Inca Trail at the end of last summer, we felt this was the next challenge. We knew it would be tough. We knew we would face obstacles to success. But in my mind I had no doubt we could do it, as long as we followed the formula for guaranteed success.
We knew where we were and where we wanted to be, so it was all about the plan. 106km in 24 hours – 5kph for 21 hours, with 3 hours for rest stops and contingency. Easy! 250-300 calories per hour plus basal calorific intake, 8000-10,500 calories, so we can eat what we want the day before, and gorge ourselves at every rest stop. Easy! Drink 500ml of liquids for every hour of exercise, including electrolytes. Easy! Training for the pace and intensity of the walk. Slightly more difficult but doable and done. What can possibly go wrong?
So on Saturday 29th of April at 7:30am we set out from Chale on the Isle of Wight, aiming to return to exactly the same spot within 24 hours. Along the way there would be 7 checkpoints where we could get food and liquids for the next section, as well as medics for any injuries we picked up en route.
Failure
I never made it, having to be convinced to drop out at the half way point as I wanted to continue despite having no energy, low blood sugar, dehydration and looking worryingly wobbly and shivering uncontrollably as I averaged around 1kph for the last km towards the stop and the medics who greeted me.
I followed the formula. I did rather than tried. What went wrong?
In my next post I will explore why I failed, and how by using a slightly modified version of the formula for guaranteed success I will succeed when I do the same challenge again in 12 months time. The exact same process of review and planning can ensure your next venture is more likely to succeed also.