Tag: weight

Lesson 3- The Weight of the Invisible Backpack (11-12-25)

Last week was about impostor syndrome.  This week is lesson 3: the weight of the invisible backpack.

I want you to imagine for a minute that you are hiking.  Everything starts great.  Now, you’re a few hours into the hike.  You can’t quite explain it.  Something is off.  You are moving slower than you normally do.  It’s harder to walk than it normally is.  You find yourself more tired and out of breath.  Eventually you sit down and all of a sudden you realize that you’ve been wearing an invisible backpack.  You slide it off your shoulders and for the first time you realize all the extra weight you are carrying.  You’re not sure how the invisible backpack ever go there, but you’re so glad the weight is gone now.  You notice that things are quite a bit easier for the rest of your hike.

Let’s connect some dots.  A couple of weeks ago my wife and I finished something, and we looked at each other and said, “Whoa, I didn’t realize how much that was weighing on me.”  Somehow, we had picked up an invisible backpack during our hike through life.  I could feel myself being tired, not as productive as I would have liked, and that things felt harder than usual.  I just didn’t understand why, until that weight had been taken off my shoulders.  Looking back, I wish I would have paid more attention to the signs, and maybe I could have done something about this invisible weight I was carrying.  Have you ever been in a similar situation?

The challenge: Will you take the time to check the invisible weight you’re carrying?  Will you give yourself and others a little more grace in the process?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Assessing Progress, Lifting, and Adjusting Training (5-17-23)

This will be in the last in the series inspired by lifting weights.  This week is about assessing your progress, lifting, and making adjustments to your training.

This past weekend I completed Highlander Assault Dark Ages, a 4-mile obstacle course race that you do at night guided by a headlamp.  One of my favorite parts of racing is that it enables you to assess your performance, and what led to that performance.  You either completed an obstacle or you didn’t.  If you did, was it as easy as you wanted it to be?  If you didn’t, did you lack the strength, technique, or something else?  I had some areas I felt great about.  My legs felt fresh through the entire race.  I felt strong, flipping tires and carrying heavy stuff felt easier than it has in the past.  I also had some good failures.  I still didn’t make it up the rope, but I made it farther than I have before.  I have technique and strength gaps here.  I had a couple monkey bar like obstacles that I failed.  I still don’t have the grip strength I need.  After I reflected on my performance, I looked at my lifting/training plan.  It served me well in some areas, but there are other areas I need to tweak to get even better. 

You might be wondering what this has to do with anything.  In my obstacle course racing story, I completed a race, assessed my wins/losses, and then updated a training plan to make me better for next time.  I’ll execute this updated training plan until my next race, and then start the cycle all over again.  How often do you do this at work?  How often do you pause to honestly assess your performance?  When you do, how much time do you spend reflecting on what got you there?  How often do you create a plan that helps you develop new skills and techniques?    I think we could all do better at this.  I know I could.

The challenge: Are you assessing your progress?  How are you adjusting to become even stronger?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry