Getting After It

071: Staying the Course – How to Adjust Goals and Keep Going

• Brett Rossell • Season 3 • Episode 71

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What happens when you're training like a beast for your first ultra marathon, the Bear Ears Ultra, and then bam—you get hit with a severe illness right before race day? 

I had to make the gut-wrenching decision to postpone the race. But instead of letting it break me, I turned this setback into a powerful lesson on adaptability and resilience.

Pivoting to a new goal, I set my sights on an event in Arizona. Inspired by legends like Michael Jordan, I kept my momentum going. This episode is all about the grit it takes to adapt and adjust your goals, the strength of a positive mindset, and the relentless pursuit of personal milestones.

We dive deep into how life's curveballs can actually fuel your growth and how changing your goals isn’t quitting—it's a sign of your unyielding commitment to success.

Drawing from Stoic philosophy and the incredible feats of people like Rob Jones, I talk about how our reactions to obstacles shape our character. Whether you’re training for a marathon or chasing any personal goal, you’ll find practical tips and motivation to keep you fired up and moving forward.

Follow on Instagram: @bcrossell

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I hope you've enjoyed today's discussion and that it's ignited a fire within you to pursue your dreams and embrace your true potential. (If it was helpful, share it with someone you think could benefit.)

If you're hungry for motivation, personal development, and career insights, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform. I try to have a diverse lineup of guests, each with their own unique stories and experiences to share.

Remember, this podcast is all about you—the dreamers and the doers. I'm here to provide a platform where your voice can be heard, where you can find inspiration, and where you can learn from the journeys of others who have dared to chase their dreams.

If you are interested in being a guest, reach out.

I appreciate your support, let's connect on social media. Follow us on Instagram (@gettingafterit_) to stay updated on new episodes and behind-the-scenes content.

Remember, your dreams are within reach. You just have to decide to Get After It.

Speaker 1:

Consistency isn't the most sexy thing, right? Like what I got. To show up and do the same thing every single day and get 1% better every single day, like that doesn't sound fun to me, but that's what consistency is and that's why it compounds, like the more you do something, the better you get. It's been an interesting week. I'm not going to lie to anyone. I'm here. It's been hard for me. To be very honest, I've talked a lot on this podcast about how I've been training for my first ultra marathon, the Bear Ears Ultra Marathon. That was in Monticello, utah, on June 22nd it was actually yesterday and I was training so hard for that and I've mentioned it a few times on this podcast that the days are long. The training hours on the trail suck. Sometimes. I love it, though, like being out there in the wilderness and seeing nature and beauty and testing my limits more than I ever have. All these things that I've been doing for months preparing for this, all these things that I've been doing for months preparing for this. As soon as I shifted from my sub three goal in February to focusing on barriers, it's been about four months of pure training for this race, and when I say training, that's putting in 50 mile weeks almost every week. So it was like it was way more running than I've ever done before and this goal is super important to me. It's my first ultra marathon. Like I want to kill it. I want to do my very best. I'm going to come out, see what I can do and really see what I'm capable of, and I was ready for it. I was feeling confident and I started the process of carb loading. I had to eat 865 grams of carbs on Wednesday and so I started and I was just pretty much pounding everything inside Ate a bunch of oats in the morning, ate granola bars throughout the day. I was eating rice cakes. I was drinking Gatorades full throttle Gatorades, the full thing, all this stuff. Right, I'm trying to get carbs in throttle Gatorades, the full thing, all this stuff. Right, I'm trying to get carbs in eating loaves of bread. I actually I was going to a trade show and I walked down to my car. It was parked in the parking garage and my wife she put on the dashboard of my car. It was a lunchbox full of plain pasta. Um, with some salt and pepper, don't worry, I'm not that crazy. Um, she had lucky charms whole box of Lucky Charms, a loaf of bread, rice cakes, and then popcorn. Ate the whole bag of popcorn, ate the whole loaf of bread, ate the noodles, anyways. So I'm filling up with carbs, right, and I'm throughout the day just pounding as much food as I can get. At the end of the day, I got to like 600 grams of carbs and it was fine, whatever, to like 600 grams of carbs and it was fine. Whatever.

Speaker 1:

I'm in this process, I'm getting ready for my ultra. I want to feel strong, so I don't care how much I have to eat, right? I want to perform my best, and so I go to bed that night. And I weighed myself the night before, um, or I weighed myself before I went to bed and I was up a lot of weight, more than I usually am. So, for reference, I was at the end of carb loading day one, I was 198. And usually I'm around 185. So I was just pounding food all day long, right, life has a funny way of putting you in its place, and what I mean by that is in the middle of the night I woke up feeling so sick I was shivering, I like my body was.

Speaker 1:

It felt like it was in shock. To be completely honest, it hurt Like, my muscles were super sore, I was tensing up, I was shivering like crazy. I asked my wife, um, then the next morning morning, like, how many blankets I had on me, and she said I had five layers on me, so I was cold. Um, but then the nausea hit and I started feeling so sick, um, to the point that, like I had to go to the bathroom and let it all out, right, um, and that happened all throughout the night. I I was just waking up, vomiting, getting back in bed, shivering, trying to live. My head was killing me. My muscles it felt like I already ran an ultra marathon because my muscles were so sore, for some reason, just aches and pains. Um, I was trying to take medicine. I couldn't keep anything down. I couldn't drink water. If I did, I'd vomit pretty bad. I'm not really sure what happened, but the next day, same thing.

Speaker 1:

This is Thursday. I was supposed to be eating 675 grams of carbs. I would be surprised if I got 50 grams of carbs in that day because, again, I couldn't keep anything down. I was trying to eat toast. It took me probably an hour to eat one piece of toast, but I was so sick and I was determined. I was like you know what, I don't care, I'm going to push through this. I'm going to run my race on Saturday. I've been training for four months for this thing and I've had my eye on it since last year.

Speaker 1:

I signed up for it in December and not much was going to allow me to not run this race. I was going to push myself to do it and all my family knew that. They all said you know, we support you with any decision that you make. We'll be there. If you want to run it, come to find out. My brother was actually planning on flying up and he spoke to me on the phone and he said you probably didn't know this and I wasn't ready for it, but this is my brother, drew, who just started running last year. He's like he's never run a marathon, but he's like I was fully prepared to run that race with you and be by your side the whole time. So shout out to Drew that's just, that's a man right there.

Speaker 1:

And um, but the whole day Thursday, thursday I was stuck in bed. It was a fever dream. I don't really remember much of it, but I was insanely sick. I couldn't keep any food down, and food was coming out every way, that's all I'll say about that. But, um, super dehydrated, it was a struggle to drink. Um, I stepped on the scale at the end of Thursday and I was 182. So I lost about 16 pounds in two days.

Speaker 1:

And so in my head I'm thinking you know what, is it smart for me to run this race? Going back to what I said earlier, like I wanted to perform my best, I want to do what I've trained for, and would this mean that going out on race day insanely sick just to get the race done? Is that what I want? Is that the goal that I'm trying to accomplish, or is the goal of trying to see what I can do in an ultra marathon? And I thought about it for a while and I realized, you know what the goal isn't, bear ears. The goal isn't that specific race, it's to run an ultra marathon. That's the goal. That's what I set my mind on.

Speaker 1:

And so I spoke with my coach and I came to the conclusion and I said you know what, I don't think it's smart for me to run this race and I don't think I'm strong enough to do it. I feel super weak. Even today I still feel incredibly weak because my stomach's not where it's at it needs to be. But I told her this and I was like I'm really worried because if I go out on this trail I'm going to pretty much struggle the entire way, more than I would if I was healthy and strong. And it was difficult. But she came back and said I'm really glad you made that choice. I'm really glad you made that choice because you want to see what you can do and you don't want to have your first experience be this awful and this negative. But it was hard for me to hear, to be honest, because I'm so stubborn Like I get my mindset on one goal and that's, that's the end right. It's like I have to have the barriers, I have to go after that race. That's the one, that's what I said I was going to do, so I better do it Right. And it's hard for me because when I say I do something like I'm going to do something, I always make sure I do my best to follow through.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes things get in the way. I got insanely sick, more sick than I've been in. I don't know how long, but it was awful. I was running a huge fever and it caused me to do a lot of introspection and thinking about what I actually want, what's the goal? And, like I said, it's running an ultra. So after I came to that conclusion, I jumped on my laptop before I went to bed and I found this race in Arizona on July 20th called the Stunner. That's pretty cool, but it's a night race in the middle of the desert. And I said, well, it's a month out, I know I can get better and I know I can have another long effort run and be able to get that in check so I can ultimately go in that race and get a lot stronger. And then I was like, if I continue to train the way I've been trained for barriers, that'll just play in my favor for Arizona, because Arizona is not even close to the elevation as Utah. So the point of this episode is to talk about adapting goals and not being afraid to do so when it happens, because this ultra marathon has been a huge goal of mine for 2024.

Speaker 1:

And you know, I got thrown a curveball, I got a shorthand of the stick, whatever you want to say, right, but I got sick and I couldn't focus and roadblocks are inevitable. It's not a matter of if, but it's a matter of when. Nothing almost will ever go as smooth as you hope it would, but that's the thing is these roadblocks. It's all part of your journey that you signed up for. The key is don't let these roadblocks, trials or whatever you want to call them. Don't let them completely derail you from your goal, because the key to being successful in anything that you do is maintaining that momentum, and that's done through consistency. It's done through exercising discipline. It's done through all these little habits that you do throughout your day that make you a better person and force you to adapt and stay strong. The trick isn't just setting goals, but adapting them. When life throws you a curveball, like getting sick before barriers, the end goal stays the same, but the journey might look a little bit different, and that's okay. I think that's part of the beauty of life is you never know what to expect. But I think what defines the greats against those who never live up to their full potential, are those people who are able to keep going when adversity comes their way, and what they tell themselves.

Speaker 1:

I go back to the story of Michael Jordan. It was before he met Tim Grover. Tim Grover was his coach and he's the guy that wrote Relentless and Winning. I've talked about that with Drew. On the last episode I had him on, but we talked a lot about Relentless. So if you want to hear about that a little bit, go the last episode. I had him on, but we talked a lot about relentless. So if you want to hear about that a little bit, go back and listen to that one. But we were um on the phone. This is actually he brought this up to me. But we were talking about Michael Jordan and before he met Tim Grover he was getting destroyed by the Detroit bad boys, like literally beaten up, he'd go up to the rim and the guys would slam him to the ground and because it was like most of it happened in Detroit and so the rest wouldn't call stuff, but they would just abuse Michael Jordan. But he would always get up. He'd always get up and try and do his best. Now then he meets Tim Grover and Tim Grover's like hey, let's make you strong, let's get you strong, and soon enough Michael Jordan was pushing through all those guys. He was able to withstand a little bit more because he had some more muscle on him and he was able to fight back a little better and not comparing myself to Michael Jordan at all, but I was pretty weak.

Speaker 1:

Um, and that time that I had to think about my goal and what it actually means to me. Again, it wasn't to run the bear ears race, it was to do my first ultra marathon. So things come up, but when you hit a roadblock, think of it as a detour, not a dead end. You don't have to be stopped where you're at. Take a step back, figure out what went wrong and adjust your approach. I think that's one of the strongest things you can do.

Speaker 1:

And going back to why I think journaling is important, is because you write down your thoughts and it slows you down and it allows you to think. I tell Allie all the time writing is what helps me think, because I'm slowly writing out my thoughts right, and I have to sit there and be intentional about it. I have to really make sure that I'm doing my best, but don't be afraid to adjust your approach. It's all about staying disciplined and keeping that forward. Momentum, consistency and relentless effort are what will pull you through those tough times. I'm going to say that again Consistency and relentless effort are what will pull you through those tough times. I'm going to say that again Consistency and relentless effort are what will pull you through those tough times. Those are both very difficult to master, both very difficult principles to accept as well. Consistency isn't the most sexy thing, right? What I got? To show up and do the same thing every single day and get 1% better every single day Like that doesn't sound fun to me, but that's what consistency is and that's why it compounds. Like the more you do something, the better you get.

Speaker 1:

When you first start a job, I can almost guarantee you you had so many questions, right? Even if, even if you're starting a job as a fry cook, right, right, even if, even if you're starting a job as a fry cook, right, you're going to have a lot of questions. How do I flip this burger? When do I know it's done? How do I operate the fry machine? What do I do when a customer gets mad at me? Like it doesn't, it doesn't matter. Like what do I do if I mess up an order? Like you're going to have all these questions, but a month down the road, you'll probably have 50% of your questions answered and then, who knows, you could be a master of fry cooking in a year if you're just consistent at it.

Speaker 1:

But that's the point is, you just keep pushing and you give your best effort. That's really what's important is. Are you proud of what you're doing? Are you proud of the effort that you give? Can you give more? All important questions to ask yourself. But it's important to also respect yourself too. Don't beat yourself into a corner. I fell into that trap a little bit when I was really struggling with my decision to drop out of the race or not, but I told myself I was so freaking prideful. I was like no, I'm going to do this goal, I don't care. Like, I put in all this effort. This is important to me. But again, was it the right choice for me at the time? Probably not. And looking back now, I'm glad I didn't run it because I want to see what I can do, and I don't want this to be my first experience to where I know I could have left something on the table if I was healthy. And so you need to stay focused, keep your motivation as high as you can and remember quitting is the only real failure. You keep pushing, you keep grinding and getting after it because you got this, whatever goal you have in your head. You got it. You can do it.

Speaker 1:

If there's people who have done it before, too, there's evidence. What did they do? That's different from what you're doing now. Find someone that you look up to Ask them questions. People aren't going to turn you down. That's the thing is. Everyone wants to talk about what they like to do, right? Um, I mean, I talk about running on this podcast all the time because it's what I like to do. It's one of my favorite things.

Speaker 1:

But if you go talk to a fisherman, he'll tell you everything that there is to know about fishing what type of like hooks to use, um, what kind of like hooks to use, what kind of waters to look for, what kind of fish are bad, what kind of fish are delicious, like. He'll tell you everything because he likes doing it, and that's the thing is. Like you got to remember why you're doing what you're doing. Is it because you like it? Is it because you're just trying to prove yourself? I don't know. That's a question for you, but motivation comes and goes.

Speaker 1:

My wife and I hope this isn't throwing her under the bus, but I think anytime actually a husband says that, usually what that means is. I'm about to throw her under the bus, but I don't know. I think she's. I don't think so. If I get in trouble I'll tell you on the next podcast.

Speaker 1:

But the other night we were talking and she was like I am, I don't have any motivation to run, like I'm losing it, I'm not, I'm not feeling it. Um, she's like the motivation is leaving, and we were talking for a while. Pretty much it came down to. I told her motivation comes and goes, but you got to figure out why it's important to you and if it's important to you you'll keep doing it. And my wife the next day woke up and ran 10 miles like a badass, no questions. I even told her to stay in bed because she wasn't feeling good. She told me to go pound sand and she ran 10 miles. And she's a beast. She's got some chest thing going on right now where she can't really breathe, but she still ran 10 miles.

Speaker 1:

And I think her why is pretty similar to mine. She wants to see what she can do. She's training to qualify for Boston and she wants to see what she can do. She's training to qualify for Boston and she wants to see what she can do, and that takes a lot of consistency. It takes a lot of relentless effort, especially during tough times, because when you're on a 22 mile run, motivation is not going to be high. You're going to be figuring out what you can do to stay in the race and just keep fighting, because it gets difficult the more you take on right. So motivation comes and goes. That's why your why has to be so strong.

Speaker 1:

And going back to the example of me and barriers my motivation, after I realized that I wasn't going to be able to run the race, my motivation to run an ultra died pretty quickly. I was like bummed. It was like all this work that went into it, it was like I pretty much just wasted four months. And I think it all comes down to how you look at things right. It's like, yeah sure, you could take the approach of I wasted four months of my life training for this. Or you could take the approach of I spent four months trying to get stronger and becoming a better runner. I learned that I like running on the trails. I learned that I enjoy pushing myself in a way that I never thought I knew, and there's always lessons to be learned along the journey and that's part of it, and that's why adapting goals is crucial, because you don't want to lose that momentum. If you're constantly learning and you're constantly improving, why would you want to lose that?

Speaker 1:

And so it's okay to adjust your approach, and I came up with three things that I think are important when you think about adapting goals. Just three simple things to maybe help you readjust if you feel like you need to. But the first one I would say is just take a step back and evaluate your goal. So what is it? Is it to run barriers or is it to run an actual ultra? Ask yourself what's the very basis of this goal and what am I trying to accomplish. Is this goal still realistic and achievable given the circumstances? That's another really good question to ask yourself. For me, it was like, well, yes, I know I'll get over this sickness, but right now it's not realistic to go run the barriers. So my first ultra no, probably not, and if it's not, it's okay to adjust it. You're not giving up, you're being smart and you're being flexible Goes back to what Kobe Bryant said about the jobs not finished.

Speaker 1:

Obviously, he was talking about he was finishing the finals, but when roadblocks come up and you lose that momentum guess what Jobs not finished? Find a way to adapt and get through that. There's this quote from Dieter F Uchtdorf that I love about this, and it's just about slowing down and kind of trying to understand where you're at. Slowing down and kind of trying to understand where you're at, but he says this they resist the temptation to get caught up in the frantic rush of everyday life. They follow the advice there's more to life than increasing its speed. In short, they focus on the things that matter most. And I think there's just so much in that quote. But one thing I love is the end. He says in short, they focus on the things that matter most. And so, going back to the ultra sorry, that's the analogy I'm going with, but I think it just makes the most sense because it's fresh.

Speaker 1:

I could have thought of my dropping out of barriers as a complete failure, right, but that's not the case, because I know I'm a stronger runner than I ever have before. Since the way I've been training, I realized that my love for running is exponentially different when I'm outside on trails than it is when I'm on the road. And I've learned all these things about pushing through. I've learned a lot about nutrition. So I'm learning all these great things along the way, which you could say to Dieter F Uchtdorf's point are the things that matter most about this journey is the lessons that you learn along it. It's not necessarily being on a podium at the end saying, hey, I came in third or first or second place. It's about what did you learn while you were accomplishing your goal. Second place it's about what did you learn while you were accomplishing your goal. How did you become a better person through it? And a lesson I learned was jobs not finished Like set your sight on the goal.

Speaker 1:

If it's to run another ultra, then find one and sign up for that and own it and give your best damn effort you can, because that's what's going to make you. Great is if you do your best, and sure you might get passed by people when you're running, or sure you might not be the best at work, you might not be the best chef, I don't know. I don't know what your goals are, but the thing is is if you're giving your best effort, you should be proud of that, because that's all you can do. If you're doing your best and you're trying consistently, you will be the best, and it goes back to that quote from Paul Graham where he says you shouldn't merely try to be good, you should always strive for your best, because if you're not even striving for your best, you won't even be good.

Speaker 1:

I might have butchered it a little bit, but it's kind of that, but I found it and I'll read it. Because I've been bad with my quotes, I'll say one and then I'll butcher it and then I'll go try and find it, but I found this one. So here it is Consciously cultivate your taste in the work done in your field Until you know which is the best and what makes it. So you don't know what you're aiming for. And that is what you're aiming for, because if you don't try to be the best, you won't even be good. Freaking Paul Graham man, let's go, because if you don't try to be the best, you won't even be good. Let that sink in, and I think it's true.

Speaker 1:

You'll get passed up by all these other people who want it more than you, and that's why your why has to be so strong. You have to really need it, grounded in what you want. It sounds very easy, I know, but when you're confronted with a roadblock, you're given two choices. You're given one choice to give up, quit, throw in the towel, or you're given the choice to adapt, find a way to become stronger and stay focused on the end goal. I will say as soon as I signed up for that next race, that's in july, july 20th I said okay, that's my redemption race. I'm bummed that I didn't get to run barriers. I was really looking forward to it, but that's going to be my redemption race. So I'm going to train as hard as I can to do what I can't like. See what I can do doesn't mean I'm going to train as hard as I can to see what I can do Doesn't mean I'm going to be the best, but it means I'm going to be my best, no one else's. This is my goal, not yours, not Allie's, not my parents, not Nick Bear's. Nick Bear sponsored me. It's my goal, and so if I'm my best going towards my goal, that's what's important. And the same principle goes to you with whatever goal that you have, just be your best at it. Try to do everything in your power to accomplish it, cause then you never know what doors it opens.

Speaker 1:

My parents are visiting Utah and on Monday my dad came with me to the office to work. We were just talking in the car, we were talking about goals, and he said one thing to me that stuck out like a sore thumb. He said I think what you should do is set a goal and see where it takes you. And I was like, damn dad, that's some real knowledge. That's like you know, you're sitting on the porch with your dad when he's older, you know, sharing a nice beverage together and he leans over and he's like you know, son.

Speaker 1:

One lesson I learned in life is set a goal and see where it takes you. Not saying my dad's that old, but it hit me hard. Set a goal and see where it takes you, because that journey is going to look different from everyone. One person's journey of gaining a million dollars is going to look a lot different from another's. But you should let's say your goal is to earn a million dollars Set that goal and see where it takes you. It could take you into sales, it could take you into marketing, it could make you start your own business I don't know. And that's the point. Goals are meant to be adaptable, because it's the journey, that's the most important part and, of course, achieving that goal, that little success at the end is worth the iceberg underneath that of everything that you've done to achieve it. But you'll look back and realize, hey, that's what I learned in this lesson.

Speaker 1:

There's a quote from I think it's Freud, but he says in retrospect the struggle will reveal itself as most beautiful. Weird as that sounds, it's the truth. When you look back at any really difficult thing that you've gone through, I'm sure you can find some kind of lesson that you learned or some way that you've gotten better through it. Now the next piece of advice I would say is focus on what you can control. You can't change everything, but you can change your approach, your attitude and, most importantly, your effort. I couldn't control the fact that I was projectile vomiting into a toilet and losing 16 pounds in two days. I couldn't control the fact that my body was shaking. I couldn't control these things right. I can't control the weather. If the weather sucks on race day, you still got to do it. But you can't change everything. But I can change my approach. Like, okay, and Barry's is done. I'm going to shift my focus to this race in Arizona.

Speaker 1:

I picked Titus. He's one of the Stoics, the Greek Stoics. He says this, the chief. It's a little long and I'll explain it because it's written in Greek, so confusing. He says this the chief task in life is simply this to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals, not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where, then, do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself, to the choices that are my own. Boom Drop the bomb from ancient greece, baby. Listen to that last part when.

Speaker 1:

Where, then, do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself, to choices that are my own. Pretty much, he's saying. So where do I look for good and bad? Like what is that then? And he says, it's not because of things that are going on in the world, it's how I respond to them, how I respond to roadblocks, because your attitude will change everything, and that's why I've talked a lot about mental health and why I think it's important to always maintain that as best as you can, and why running is that outlet for me.

Speaker 1:

But running allows me to control myself and it allows me to be more, I guess, focused on the goals that I'm trying to set and the choices that are my own. But never give up, like, if it's something you can't control, guess what? You can't control everything. You can't control what people do to you. You can't control you know how your day's going to go. Obviously, you can influence it, but you can't control it. And if you think you can, that's I'm just going to tell you right now good luck, because you can't control everything. You can try. You might feel like you're in control, but you can't. You're at the way of the world, my friend. Bad things happen to everyone, but how are you going to respond to them when they do? I think that shows true character. Are you able to pick yourself up, dust off your shoulders and keep going? Or are you going to reminisce on it and only think about that and write this pity story that makes you sad? I don't know.

Speaker 1:

But it goes back also to the podcast I had with Rob Jones, the double amputee who ran 31 marathons in 31 days in 31 cities. He biked across America. He was a bronze medalist in the Paralympics in rowing, but this was all after he got blown up, his legs gone. All after he got blown up, his legs gone, but he could have been Lieutenant Dan in a chair, pissed off at the world. But Rob Jones realized that that's not what his purpose was. His purpose was to see what he could do with his new circumstances and to adapt, and because of that he went on to do amazing things and now he's working with Jocko's company as an instructor, and that's an amazing example about how your attitude can control everything. And that's actually what he said. We were talking about extreme ownership and he said the thing is and a lesson that he tries to get across to everyone that he consults or talks to when he goes to business conferences is that you can own your attitude.

Speaker 1:

It's hard, like if someone says something angry to you at work and makes it a little furious, a little bit right, it's hard to control your attitude and be like hey, I'm not taking it personal, or, when roadblocks come up, like, I'll be honest, I'll be the first one to say I was not in the best attitude that Thursday. I was pissed off all day and I was like I'm. I know I'm super sick, but I'm mad, I've worked so hard for this and that was the wrong way to look at it. The way should have been hey, I'm going to get better and then focus on whatever's next. That's the way I should have looked at it, but I didn't, and I realized that's a lesson I learned is look for the next thing.

Speaker 1:

If you can't do one thing, if one roadblock causes your path to be completely shut off, look to your left, look to your right, but find a way around it. Maybe you need to go get a bulldozer and plow your way through it. But don't be stagnant, don't sit, don't reminisce. If you need to mourn, do it, but get over it quick. I love Jocko's protocol. Anytime he says hey, if you're broken up with a girlfriend, here's what you do. You feel bad for yourself for a day. Maybe you sit around, eat a pizza, you cry, watch movies, but then the next day you get right back up and you get after it. You move on, and that's what I'm doing with this barriers. I'm moving on from barriers in 2024. But 2025, I'm coming out and I'm going to be double ready because I'll already be running one ultra. I already have one under my belt and I'll keep running the trails and I'm trying to get stronger.

Speaker 1:

But point I'm trying to make is your attitude does have a lot of power behind it and if you're able to control it, I think you'll be in a much better off place. So don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to change if you need to. Last thing I would say is just stay positive and stay persistent, because changing a goal doesn't mean you failed. I want to really make sure that that hits home.

Speaker 1:

Changing your goal doesn't mean that you failed. It means you're committed to finding another way to succeed, no matter what. I wrote that, so I'm going to read it again because I was actually proud of that when I read it. Changing your goal doesn't mean you failed. It means you're committed to finding a way to succeed, no matter what. Now you know I love my boy, winston Churchill, and he has a good quote on this.

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He says he that can heroically endure adversity will bear prosperity with equal greatness of soul. For the mind that cannot be dejected by the former is not likely to be transported with the latter. Boom, pretty much he's saying if you're not allowed to like, if you can't withstand adversity, you're not going to be able to have prosperity. And obviously there's. That's Winston Churchill just being very direct. But there's truth in that If you don't have the soul to withstand adversity and you don't have the power, the courage whatever you want to call it to just the grit to stay there in the fight, then how can you expect yourself to be blessed with prosperity or equal greatness? That doesn't make sense, it doesn't add up. But there's a point about staying persistent. That is crucial to any goal and that's why maintaining that momentum is equally as important. So if that means you need to break your goal down into smaller steps so you can keep that momentum going, if you're trying to learn Spanish and you've been practicing for 30 minutes a day and you realize it's too much, break it down to 15, but just keep doing it and then maybe you can bump it back up to 30 minutes. But that's what's important about this is you have to understand where you're at and realize, since it's your own journey, it's okay to make adjustments, because this is all about you and achieving your own goals. So what does your journey look like? I'm sure you have a good roadmap of it, but on your journey, stay positive.

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There was a study done. I'll link it in the show notes, but there was a study done that they examined 100 people throughout their lives and they followed them. I think it was from age 30 to 60. And so it's a 30-year study. Pretty cool, and they would see everyone go through ups and downs in their lives, right, and some people would lose their jobs, some people would get a divorce, some people would lose a kid, some people would get a divorce, some people would lose a kid, some people would lose a limb, get super sick. And the group running the study recognized that one key factor of all the successful people who were able to get through their trials, who were able to keep moving and progressing towards their goal, was positivity. Trials who were able to keep moving and progressing towards their goal was positivity.

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And us humans are always defaulted to think negatively first. That's where our brain goes is what's the worst that could happen in this situation. That's what's happening right now. Okay, I'm dead right, because we're all wired for survival, and so it is a challenge to think positively. But there's a lot of power in it, and I'm not saying you have to tell yourself affirmations, but don't look at everything so negative, like we're already flooded with negative negativity. You don't have to go far. Go on social media. You can scroll maybe three times and find something that's negative, but find things that can help you stay positive. And so if it's like what Dieter F Uchtdorf was saying and just trying to find the things that matter to you most in life, maybe that helps you stay positive, maybe it's. You know, I'm really struggling, I'm having a bad day, I need to sit down and watch a show and eat a slice of pizza. If that's going to keep you positive, I say, do it, because that'll keep you consistent, it'll help you maintain that momentum. But all these things aren't meant to discourage you from your goal. It's meant to make you better. It's meant to allow you to change and learn lessons along the way.

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Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before he came up with the light bulb, and he doesn't say that. Though he doesn't say he failed, he says that he had a thousand attempts, a thousand different versions in the light bulb is what he says, and that's a huge perspective shift, right From. You know he could have said damn it, I'm on 669 prototype of my light bulb and it just exploded and the guy went through and did a thousand. How do you think he stayed positive? What do you think he told himself? What do you think you can tell yourself to stay positive when things don't go your way. When things are getting rocky, what can you do? How can you make a difference? What can you do to be better? All questions ask yourself. But my call to action to you guys today I think this is an important exercise to do is sit down and write out your why for a goal.

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What's your why? Why do you want to accomplish the thing? You want? To Sit down and boil it down to the very premise of why. Make it so basic that you could read it to a four-year-old and they'd be able to understand it. For me, it's to see what I can do and to inspire other people, because I was never a runner. I had 11 minute paces, I was 135 pounds, I was knocking on death's door, but here I, strong enough to be able to run an ultra marathon and I hope that's inspiring to someone. But I just feel grateful that I can and that's why I want to see what I can do, because I know what it's like to not be able to. That's where it comes from for me. But it's really that the why is. I want to see what I can do and inspire other people along the way. Simple as that. So do that for yourself. Think about the real reason you're trying to accomplish something. Write it down and look at it regularly. It doesn't have to be every day, but look at it a lot. It'll teach you things.

Speaker 1:

Well, I appreciate everyone for listening to this one. This is a very important topic because everyone goes through this. Everyone has to learn how to adapt their goals, how to maintain that momentum, what to do when roadblocks occur. But remember it's character. Those who stay in the fight. They have character, and if you're listening to this podcast, you do too. So stay in the fight. Adapt your goal. It's okay, but don't lose sight of it. Work relentlessly towards it and just be hella consistent. Don't give up. You guys got this.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate everyone for listening. If it helps anyone, please share it with other people. Please leave a review if you haven't, and I'll send you a spicy DM. Also, I know I say this a lot on this podcast, but if you ever need to talk to someone, if you ever need a little bit of motivation, if you just want to talk through your goal with someone, reach out to me on social media. My Instagram handle is at BCRossel, so hit me up. I will be more than happy to talk to you because, like I said, everyone's capable of greatness, but what differentiates the greats from those who don't achieve their goals are those who can find ways to continue to pursue even when roadblocks occur. So appreciate everyone for listening. Until next time, keep getting after it.