Unlocking Your Full Potential: How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs to Achieve Success or How Dory helped me finish the Fan Dance

I was inspired by a post I saw earlier to week to reacquaint myself with a high performance partner I hadn't paid any attention to for the past six years. We had a relatively short relationship, about six months. But when I look back, those six months saw me achieve my biggest physical and mental challenge to date. They also made me realise that the mind and not the body is the limit of my performance. My partner by the way is a rucksack.

16 kg of pain and suffering

Bravado versus common sense

It all started with a New Year phone call from one of my oldest and closest friends"Geordie I've got a great idea, the Locker 27 (the high performance gym he's founded) is putting a team in for this thing called the Fan Dance. It's a hike/run over a mountain in the Brecon Beacons. The SAS use it for their selection, you'll love it ". Now I have learned that many of the things Matt sells to me as fun can be challenging, but also laugh out loud funny. I'm in!

Now to be fair, I was caught at a vulnerable moment. Inspired by new year ambition and with a laissez faire attitude to my 45 year old commuters body, I agreed to participate. I'd done Half Marathons and Triathlons for a few years until my early 40's, so I knew about physical challenges. How hard could it be? Well, as it turned out that was the last easy part of the Fan Dance experience.

Lesson learned: When taking on a new challenge, consider your starting point. The skill set you had before, may no longer be sufficient or available to you. It doesn't mean you can't adapt, it just means your planning needs to take into consideration where you are now in relation to your goal.

The Challenge

The reality was I had to train my office bound body to complete a 24 km hike, up and over a Welsh mountain (Pen Y Fan) while carrying 16 kg of kit in a rucksack. For authenticity reasons (and the rules) we had to wear hiking boots, trousers and carry water and food in addition to the pack. Just to make sure we weren't tempted to cut corners that rucksacks were weighed before the race.

Preparing to succeed

Back in my competitive cricketing days when training in the off-season I used to say "The miles I put in my legs running in November to March, are the wickets I'll take in April to September". I called this 'Earned Credit' to be drawn down during the long season.

I trained weekly with the team for 4 months marching across the Surrey Hills, plus doing individual training sessions in between. The progressive plan allowed us to increase load and be uncomfortable, but not to over do it and risk injury. I earned confidence and felt prepared. Only later would I find out that although the hills we used may have felt steep, in reality even the steepest and longest hill in Surrey is of no comparison to the beast that is the Fan Dance route.

The participants in shorts were quickly told they had to wear trousers

Lesson learned: Mirror as closely as you can the situation you will need to operate when performing. Rehearse the start, middle and end of the challenge/task. Build your confidence and resilience (Mindset) for when the going gets tough, earn the right to perform at your best. There is no perfect rehearsal for any challenge, however you can try your best and plan alternative scenarios.

The Event

Fast forward 4 months and we are all standing at the famous telephone box at 5 am, having slept in a Youth Hostel the night before. Directing staff are shouting instructions, there are a lot of nervous people, some talking too much, some very quiet. As we look up the steep start to the course is covered in low cloud. What will the next few hours hold?

This is a time when negative thoughts can start to slip into your mind, just before you perform, I've experienced this before so I'm prepared. I start thinking "The training has been done, but you are the least prepared of our team. STOP!" It's important to recognise negative thoughts before you perform can happen are part of performance anxiety. But you need to stop them in their tracks. Focus on the positives, big breath, stand up tall "This will be a great experience, I'm with some great friends, who all want each other to succeed, this will be hard, but rewarding". It can also help to ensure your goals are challenging but realistic, "Your only goal is to finish. Walk this at your own pace." I remember a saying from my rowing days. "Keep your eyes in the boat, row your own race, that's all you can do".

I'm ready to get the party started.

Lesson learned: Mindset can be key to even beginning your challenge. It's easy to forget the hard work and earned credit you have built up to get to that point. Draw on positive self talk, write down some statements if you suffer from self doubt and read them before you perform, reinforce all the good work you have put in. If you notice any doubt, stop, reset (I take a deep breath) and refocus. Negative thoughts will only drain your energy and do you a disservice.

Top tip: I find rehearsing and visualising a successful outcome helps here. In this situation I calmed myself down with deep breathing, closed my eyes and rehearsed how I would feel when I successfully crossed the finishing line.

Stage 1 - Up to the summit (for the first time)

The first stage is relatively simple, it's steep and tough, but the mass of people drag me along. Sometimes it's good to be a sheep, the cloud cover helps because we can barely see in front of us which means I can stay in the moment. I start snacking and sipping water to keep my body topped up. We reach the summit and the cloud lifts. The training has worked.

That wasn't too bad

Stage 2 - The First descent- Jacobs ladder

Jacobs ladder for those of you that have read the bible is the ladder from heaven to earth. I for many years post Fan Dance thought this was the staircase to hell. This was the first time a steep descent featured on the route and it quickly became clear that there had been a gap in our training plan. I quickly found out that slowing myself down with 16 kg on my back is more tiring than climbing. The first casualties are spotted and as falls occur, ankles are twisted and bones are broken. Once the really steep bit is done and the mountain goat hopping and jumping is over I can let gravity help. But, the realisation that the challenge is only 1/3 complete and that I'll have to back up Jacobs ladder is starting to hit home. Time for another deep breath. This is unknown territory, my legs are seriously tired, I need to adjust my personal plan and start to think about how I get this done.

I take a break, clear my head, take on food and water (to help my body and mind) and start to break the remaining stages into shorter term goals. The next goal being completing the Roman Road section and making the halfway rendezvous point (RV) within the 3 hours 15 mins cut-off.

Credit: Carsten Pleiser - Jacobs Ladder

Lesson Learned: Even if the first stage of a challenge goes well, you must stay focused, stay in the moment and be prepared to adapt. The goal can stay the same, but how you get there doesn't need to stay the same. Mini goals that allow you to be successful are a great way of approaching a challenge and keeping a positive mindset.

STAGE Three- The Roman road and the half way point

As the Life of Brian taught us, the Romans did a lot for us. Roads, Aqueducts, Democracy, Sanitation. Well, in this case I can only assume they ran out of energy or the Celts evicted them and they decided the road from Pen Y Fan didn't need to have the boulders removed. It was an absolute ... well lets just say it was tough, big rocks, slow and it was getting hotter. This was a time to dig in, psychologically expending so much energy on the Roman Road was a surprise. I needed to get to the halfway point and quickly as if I didn't I wouldn't be allowed to continue. This is when you need to understand yourself and what motivates you. I was determined not to quit. But my body was complaining and worst of all the soles of my feet were starting to blister. I stuck with the approach of mini goals, get to the halfway point, take onboard fluids and take stock.

The decision point

I make it to the halfway RV and the Directing Staff ask me. How do you feel? Me: Fine. DS: You look spent, you only just made it. Do you want to quit? Me: Nope, I'm OK. (This was a lie) DS: Are you sure? This is your last chance to hop in the van back. Me: Nope, I'll continue, Ta.

In reality this was my peak of self doubt as I had a ride home. In the end my ego won and I decided to keep going.

The Return Leg from Hell

So my bloody mindedness had kicked in, I hated the idea of quitting. If I did I'd let my mates and myself down. But as soon as I turned back towards the Roman Road I knew I was going to have to dig deeper than I ever had before. When I did Triathlons I'd get moments when I'd wonder why I had decided to do this to myself. Apart from a couple of near misses when getting swum over and kicked in the head (not great) I knew that I could stop cycling and running and just walk back to the race start if a triathlon got too hard, but it never did, that option gave me comfort. The big issue I had on the Fan Dance was I was already walking back to the start.

The plan was adjusted again. Simplify my goals, make each rest point shorter and achievable. I also went back to a little phrase I used to use in the middle of triathlons from Finding Nemo, Just keep swimming. Every step forward back up the Roman Road and up Jacobs ladder was a step closer to my goal and my commitment to myself.

The pattern continued. The stops became more frequent and longer. The rescue helicopter circled overhead as participants fell (literally) by the wayside. Jacobs ladder was exhausting and was only made worse by day trippers telling me how heavy that pack looked and how exhausted I must be. I was now angry with myself for being so stupid to think I could do this at my age. But, I'd quickly snap out of that negative talk and "Just keep swimming". Eventually after nearly 7 hours (Three hours longer than the SAS are allowed) I made it down the hill and back to the phone box.

A badge, burger and beer

As you can see I was dead on my feet, but I hadn't quit and I had achieved my goal. Which was just to finish.

Lesson learned: Tough challenges are meant to be uncomfortable, there may also be times where you are angry, ready to quit or frustrated with yourself or others. This is part of the journey. If you prepare, train and are fully committed to the goal you can get there. Positive talk will support your goal, negative talk will sap your energy. Be prepared to stop, take a breath and adapt your approach. The reward at the end may be a burger and bottle of Fan Dance Beer, the deep satisfaction of chasing and achieving a goal or the powerful knowledge that an open positive mindset will take you far beyond what you think is possible. You just need to keep swimming!

The Locker 27 finishers

If you want to talk about how the lessons learned in sport can help you in business and in life please contact us at info@myperformancecoach.uk for an intro chat.