Acclimating myself into the “real world”—the world of beating traffic, packing lunches, motorists who haven’t yet mastered the proper direction of their turn signals, deadlines, lazy cashiers, high school kids at the gym who have spatial awareness problems—after a camp or event has usually been an unsettling process.
When you’re in that rugby world—the world of physical exertion, proper recovery, team meetings, ice baths, drills—every action seems to be calculated for the specific purpose of meeting a goal, whether it be improvement, performance or anything else. Your world seems to be circumscribed by your schedule, your commitment to the team, your commitment to performing and improving and the sport in general. In a manner of speaking, you’re tightly wound by the strings of rugby (or that’s how it is for me).
When you return to the real world, outside factors—factors that don’t touch you in a training facility, a rugby pitch or a hotel room—have the tendency to unwind those strings. Things like paying bills, dealing with the morning and afternoon rushes, grocery shopping, job stresses and the like take precedence, once again, and you have to reshuffle yourself so that you can deal with these factors that were only vestiges of a far off life while you were in training or competition.
When I was in college, I was on an athletic scholarship for basketball. I am familiar with the balancing act of “athletic performance meets day-to-day life.” However in college, basketball (my old flame) was always in the forefront. I was under contract (the scholarship) for four years, and practices and competition were year-round parts of my life. I didn’t have to shift gears, so to speak, from athletic mode and “real life” mode. I was a student-athlete—it was my job to be that. This shifting gears is new to me, and though I’m becoming better at it, I still yearn for those student-athlete days, when the high-performance life was, by the default of the title itself, ingrained into the “real world.”
For those eight women, who don’t have to do the shifting anymore—those eight rugby players who are now professional athletes—I am happy. I hope that we, the rugby world, can continue the progression of relieving financial burden for our hard-working players, and so make competing and training easier.
We are working on integrating the high-performance rugby lifestyle in our respective “real worlds,” by exchanging information, staying as close to our teammates as possible and getting together to train and compete whenever possible. As far as our own daily lives go, it is up to us to keep the high-performance mindset and to eliminate distracting factors, or at least live with them. Personally, I’ve managed to utilize small things and resources to help me do this, and I would like to share.
Calendars and planners—I have several calendars and planners for various aspects of my life. I have a workout calendar, a daily planner and a sort-of outside-projects-personal-livelihood planner. I have all of these in journal medium, and I have put them on my computer. It takes me about 5 minutes total, per day, to jot down tasks and check them off, and it probably saves me hours by keeping me more organized and less distracted.
Goals/Progress Journals—I’ve always had a workout journal, in which I record my workouts so that I can keep track of my progress. Recently, I’ve incorporated a “Goals” journal for my training, and have been reflecting in each of my various planners on how/if/when I’ve completed different tasks (after all to-do lists are just goals). This setting goals and reflecting on them works to get you closer to those goals and (if you have one) closer to your ultimate goal, whatever that may be.
Positive People—It’s so important to surround yourself with people who share your work-ethic/values/goals. I’m not saying that the occasional challenge isn’t welcome, just as long as it’s a positive challenge. More than that, I’ve found that getting others excited about being more healthy, getting in better physical shape, becoming better rugby players, etc keeps you on the right track as well.
These are just a few ways I’ve dealt with, not only, the transition from camps/competitions back to real life, but also employing a high-performance mindset and practice in daily life. Granted, I’m not an expert at this…just yet, but I thought I’d at least share what I’ve learned. I think what it all boils down to—at the very core of accomplishing anything—is becoming closer to your work. I say, embrace it, and use every resource/medium to get as close as you can.
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