How to Try Again

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I need it to work this time“? Maybe you’re trying to start a workout routine again. Maybe you want to take better care of yourself and finally eat in a way that feels good. Maybe it’s something else entirely. Whatever it is – if you’ve tried before and it didn’t go how you hoped, a quiet desperation can creep in. “I’m so tired of trying and getting nowhere.” “Will this ever work for me?” “Maybe I’m just a lost cause.” (All things I’ve had people share with me.) These thoughts are completely NORMAL. But I know it doesn’t make it any less sucky to deal with. And worse, experiences like these make you gun shy to try again. You start looking for the perfect plan – the one that can guarantee success no matter what. And any setback? Just more proof that we can’t hack it. So how do we break out of this “Doom Loop” and gear up for another attempt? And how do we make it go differently than last time? These are the fundamental questions that Steve tackles in his upcoming book, “How to Try Again” (have we mentioned the book before ) While Steve guides you step-by-step through the process, I want to highlight one section in particular that I think is really helpful for when you find yourself stuck in this mode. Here’s what Steve writes: Comics don’t tell a joke because it’s funny. They tell a joke until it’s funny. ​ A joke begins as an anecdote or an observation. It’s a “best guess”at something that might be funny. It’s a shout into the void, often accompanied by “Is this anything?” That first day telling a joke is usually painful. Nobody laughs, and the comedian awkwardly follows it up with “Okay, guess that’s not ready.” ​ The next time they tell that joke, they tell it slightly differently with a new punch line. Again, crickets. But the third time they tell it, they get one chuckle. That comedian now has their first win, and they can start to build of that joke. The next time they tell it, it gets a bit funnier, and they get a few more laughs. ​ And from there, one adjustment or tweak at a time, a comedy set gets built. That’s what makes stand- up so darn impressive. It’s a meticulously crafted performance made to look effortless. These same lessons apply to any change we attempt (including improving our fitness!) The Matrix If I had powers like in the Matrix and I could just download all the info I’ve learned in the last 15 years of coaching into your brain, this is what I would share: Treat each workout, each nutrition strategy, as an experiment to see what works for you. Take your best guess and go for it, even if you don’t know for sure. A “failed” experiment isn’t a failure – it’s feedback we can use to try again, differently. Because here’s the thing – there is no one workout, no one nutrition strategy, no one r