“TRAINING IS IN EVERY MOMENT”

In most circumstances we tend to view our training sessions in isolation to life. Whether we are a professional or an amateur, younger or older; whether we go to the gym or we do cardio; we play the game and return to “normal life”. We use this brief moment in time to learn or develop what we intend and no sooner do we step out of the court, off the bike, do we return back to the usual routine.

It appears that we view training and life as disparate; that when we compete or when we train it is non inclusive of life itself and our responses in each. I suggest an alternative view – life is training.
In every moment there is an opportunity to learn about ourselves, to develop the exact things we really need to work on that manifests in the way we train and the way we compete. Although it’s much harder to see when we have the view that training and life are separate.

It reminds me of the person who meditates for 20 minutes each morning, and then the moment they stand up they’re charging around and flicking people off who cut them up on the motorway. (I by no means exclude myself from this analogy!)
If there is something that triggers us in life, that same trigger will happen in training or competition. If we go about training in a certain way, we generally lead our lives in a similar way.
As Dan Millman would say “training mirrors life, and life mirrors training.”

Therefore we do not need to limit ourselves to feeling that the only developments that can be made are the times we set aside in the day to “train”.

• Training can be brushing your teeth. How much tension is in your arm?
• Training can be eating your food. How easily does your mind wander to something else?
• Training can be being given a new task at school or work. Do you respond with frustration, diligence or disregard when you’re given a task you’re no good at?
• Training can be a disagreement with your partner, friend, or a stranger. How well are you able to see a point of view besides your own?

There’s a saying that “how you do one thing is how you do everything” and when you begin to view life and training as one in the same, the opportunity for growth is as limitless as the opportunities available.