EVER wonder why you should always make your bed each day?
It may seem like a miniscule, irrelevant detail. But believe me, this simple task is one of the key things you can do in your life today. Let me tell you why.
Firstly, everyone knows how nice to get into a made bed at the end of a hard day. But more importantly than that, it gives you an easy instant win each morning.
This might all sound like crazy talk but stay with me here.
If you set a goal to make your bed, this can be an easy enough task to gives you a win each morning from the goals you set.
So each morning before leaving the house you have already achieved something. You are already up and running.
I do this everyday before I go about my morning routine. But why do you have to have a specified morning routine? Why is this even important?
Well, I remember how important this for me when I was in hospital.
I couldn’t wait until I was out of bed into my wheelchair and able to make my bed on my own.
At first, it was a huge goal for me and one I celebrated every morning once I was able to do it. It might amaze you how much of hospital life for me was about achieving these simple tasks of independence.
ON Thursday I was working alongside Daniel Smith, a man who works in sports marketing who I met at Nike and now looks after athletes like world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thomson. We were delivering a class to international sports students.
After the day was finished we were taking the water taxi back up the Thames when I reflected on one of the messages I had asked the students to take on board.
I had challenged them to define their personal philosophy. What was the story they were telling themselves about who they are?
I have written about this lots in my column and truly believe the main reason I get up each morning, make my bed and go out and squeeze every last bit out of life is down to knowing my philosophy.
I have it written on my wall to remind myself so I don’t let one day slip past me.
Having said that, when you ask a class of 19-year-olds to come up with theirs, in no less than 25 words, it can be a bit of a struggle for them to come up with something.
But I tell them this could be one of the most important areas of inner work they or you will ever do.
It’s why you get up each morning make your bed and attack your day. It’s also the most important bit of knowledge you can have if you’re ever in a position where you have to fight for your life.
As the boat dropped me off I took a quick look online to see how Pete Reed is getting on and saw that he had just posted a video of himself attempting stairs for the first time in his wheelchair.
I know how Pete goes about his rehabilitation, in exactly the same way he won his three Olympic gold medals.
It won’t be easy, there will be horrendous day sand there will be great days. Small wins like getting down a few steps is now his Olympic gold medal.
So as you read this, what are you going to do today to squeeze everything out of today?
What is success? For me, it is living your philosophy.
We all have our own fights in life. For Anthony Joshua his is attempting to win his belts back this weekend. For Pete Reed it is pushing further each day in his rehabilitation.
For me, now one year out of hospital, as I read a medical letter which says I can have as much as ten years tumour free post radiation, it is training as hard as I can to win a medal in the world championships in Glasgow 2023.
This means showing up each day and doing my best. As Doctor Steve Peters once said to me, all you can do is your best.
It is a nice feeling each night to look in the mirror and remind yourself that you did your best today. If you can honesty say that each day then you’re on the right path.
WITH Nike already on board, I was delighted at the start of the week when Kelvin Trott paused and said he wanted to be part of my Jamaican journey.
A keen time trialist back in the 1970s whose company sponsored Graeme Obree during his world hour record attempts, we were chatting about cycling and my goals when he paused and said he wanted to be part of my Team Jamaica story.
“Can you win a medal? he asked. “I will do my best,” I replied. With that we shook hands on a four- year deal, and along side Nike I now have my team in place.
I do miss my GB team mates and seeing them cycling in Majorca at the moment was hard as I know how much I would have enjoyed cycling with them out there.
But as I told myself I want to be happy and doing this aligned with my values.
Never did I know leaving the British Team would give me more support than I had dreamed of.
I was always scared to leave the team and lose my £800 a month funding but I am so grateful for the sponsors and backers who have helped to account for the shortfall.
It just shows how much fear can hold us back.
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