The Old Me Doesn't Need Practice

It was a weird day today.

Some really good conversations. Some that went nowhere.

Trying to navigate different personalities.

Time with my grandkids that I absolutely loved.

Preparing for some weighty meetings with potentially significant outcomes.

Nothing bad.

Just a lot.

And tonight, when I finally sat down to think about writing an Insight, something hit me:

I really sucked at living what I profess today.

I talk a lot about being intentional.

Slow down.

Notice.

Listen.

Get curious.

Question assumptions.

Respond instead of react.

I believe all of it.

Heck, I write about it.

But today, under enough pressure, I found myself slipping back into some old, familiar ways.

And I think that's what happens.

When a day—or life—gets tough, we abandon intentionality and regress to familiarity. 

Not consciously.

We just stop doing the work.

And the old responses are right there waiting for us.

Old assumptions.

Old reactions.

Old habits.

They don't require much thought.

The old me doesn't need practice.

He's had decades of it.

The person I'm trying to become?

That guy still needs reps.

And maybe that's part of what Sustain really means.

Not just maintaining change.

Practicing the intentional until it becomes familiar.

Because someday, when the pressure is high and I fall back on what's familiar, I'd like to find a different version of myself waiting there.

I'm not there yet.

Today made that pretty clear.

But I noticed.

I own it.

And tomorrow I get another rep.

— Coach Dave

Your NoBS Reflection

NOTICE: Under pressure, what old responses do I fall back into?

OWN: Which ones no longer reflect who I'm trying to become?

BUILD: What responses need more reps?

SUSTAIN: What would it take for the intentional to become familiar?