CAL Tip #13: Build Stamina Through Perseverance
I celebrated my fourth anniversary of having a Fitbit this past July. I took a little time to retrospect on my progress.
When I first started to walk, I didn't have a specific goal except to walk. My vertigo interfered with the way I walk. I lurched from side to side. I slowed way down so I could stay upright. I decided enough of that. In 2015, I bought a Fitbit and
In 2016, I started to walk 5,000 steps a day. Except, only Monday-Friday, not on the weekends. Whatever I did on the weekends was fine.
In 2017, I got serious about my walking. I didn't set out to increase the number of steps. Instead, I wanted to walk faster. Because I walked faster and still spent the same
I could see the results in 2018: I increased both the total number of walking minutes and my total number of steps. I increased my mileage by about 10% over 2017.
I just reviewed 2019. I've already increased my mileage by about 10% over 2018, and we have four months remaining in the year.
As a result, I'm much stronger and able to walk more. (Yes, with a
That's an example of building my (physical) stamina through perseverance.
Here's what I did:
These are the steps of deliberate practice, according to Duckworth's Grit. It helps that I believe in and use Dweck's Growth Mindset, and that I'm an optimist by nature according to Seligman.
We can build our stamina for almost anything. We need to persevere through deliberate practice and feedback. We need the perseverance to stick with this new skill for long enough to see progress. We need the ideas of deliberate practice to incorporate feedback
That's it. Nothing
Except...
That's easy to say and can be
I also use perseverance to build my writing chops. And, my coaching and consulting work. I can't excel at everything. I can learn to excel at some things when I practice. And, I need to make sure I'm not trying to improve too much at any one time. I know, no one you know ever does that.
I also need to make sure I don't interrupt my practice, especially when it becomes difficult. There are days I don't want to walk at all, never mind my 5,000 steps. I use the power of a streak to help me get through those days.
I use perseverance as a tool. For me, perseverance builds stamina. I use perseverance to find my grit. I hope you do, too.
My online workshops with Esther Derby are at Your Management Mentors. The first workshop is Make the Most of Your One-on-Ones.
My online workshops with Mark Kilby are at Distributed Agile Success. The first workshop is Prepare for Successful Distributed Agile Teams.
If you only read the newsletter, I hope you also read the
Here are other links you might find useful:
Till next time,
Johanna
© 2019 Johanna Rothman