Know the Terrain Before You Pick the Route 🗺️

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Lately, I’ve been starting coaching conversations a little differently.

Not with food.

Not with training.

But by trying to understand their capacity for change.

“What does the ground in front of you actually look like right now?”

Sometimes it looks open and spacious.

Time’s reasonable. Stress is manageable. There’s room to move & play.

Other times it feels tight and boxed in.

Work is heavy. Family demands are high. And by most evenings, you’re spent.

Neither is wrong.

The problem is pretending you’re in one when you’re clearly in the other.

Understanding your current capacity doesn’t limit what’s possible.

But it does help you understand which tools and tactics are likely to work best.

A sled is an awesome way to go downhill.

Pretty useless going up.

Same tool.

Different conditions.

I see a lot of people (myself included) rushing into a plan without first understanding where their current capacity for change.

You can start by asking things like:

• How does life feel overall right now? Is it super chill or overwhelming chaotic...
  

• By the end of the day, do you have any decision-making energy left?
  

• Outside of work and family, how much time actually feels like it’s “yours”?
  

• How has your sleep been recently?
  

If you look at your current terrain and it’s rocky—thats okay.

Knowing is a good thing.

What doesn’t help is expecting yourself to become a food-prep ninja overnight while your schedule is already packed and stress levels are bubbling over. That’s a hot mess.

When things are tight:

• Tight schedule? Fewer decisions, simpler food, shorter sessions.
  

• Low energy? Focus on maintaining instead of pushing.
  

Progress isn’t about choosing the hardest route available.It’s about choosing something—and sticking with it long enough to matter.

You can always change routes when things open up again.

The goal isn’t perfection.

It’s forward movement.

And that comes from working with the landscape you’re in—not arguing with it.

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P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie