Category: Ride It Forward

A WINNING TERRY STORY.

Every once in a while, we offer the chance to win a Terry Bicycle. The most fun is letting someone know they’ve won. We just had to share this lucky winner’s response…

Dear Lisa and the Gals,
Instead of giving you my height and inseam, I want to share with you my Terry Story. I’m not a random internet email winner.

You have no idea the synchronicity that just occurred. I haven’t been able to ride much since my severe trimalleolar ankle fracture 7 years ago. How it happened? Not on a bike, just walking down a slippery slope.

But just this morning after physical therapy was going so well (6 months after my second ankle surgery), I hoped and dreamed of riding again. Riding my favorite bike anytime. My beloved Terry.

I went to the garage to get ready. In my saddle bag, there was my lost spare key fob, gone 6 months. I couldn’t believe my luck. After a 6 month recovery, what a lucky find. I thought, “the gods are smiling and telling me its time to ride again. It’s OK. It’s time. I won’t hurt my ankle, and make things worse”. But my ankle was getting sore, so I decided to sit, ice, and check my emails.

And that’s when I read your email and wanted to jump up and down, but mostly shuffled, cried and said, “OMG,OMG,OMG. I wish they knew my whole Terry Story: the why and the how it became my favorite bike. How it gave me the comfort and security to go from riding 1 city block to hundreds of country miles.”

Sincerely in Terry Bicycle Love,

P.S. If you insist on giving me the bike, I want to coordinate it with the Boise Bike Project to find the best size for a suitable woman in need of a bike. Let’s keep in touch.

Interested in entering our current contest? Click here, and if you have a winning bike story of your own please let us know in the comment section below!

Happy Riding,

The Terry Team

April 5, 2016
RIDE. SHOP. BENEFIT.

Come Visit Terry: The Lund Ride for Children.

Now in its 7th year, the Vermont Lund Ride for Children has grown into a weekend event that embraces biking, children and families. Terry will be hosting a trunk show Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st, benefiting the children and family programs that Lund supports. Come enjoy a chance to score some new Terry gear and ride for an awesome cause. The trunk show will be happening at 50 Joy Drive, South Burlington, VT on Saturday May 30th from 3:00p.m. – 6:00p.m. and Sunday May 31st from 7:00a.m. – 2:00p.m.

The Lund Ride for Children offers 4 different routes to accommodate any riding style: 4, 16, 30, or 55 miles! To find out more about the ride, to register, or to sponsor an existing team, visit bike.lundvt.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

May 12, 2015
NO COASTING.

November 4, 2014
HOW BIG IS YOUR BUT?

Is your “but” getting in the way of your ride? You can come up with a million excuses as to why you “shouldn’t” be taking the time to get on your bike for a few miles each day….work and family responsibilities are easy targets. You truly feel them as real things you can’t take time away from. I get it.

Here is the issue for me as your “Derailleur”…having your “buts” get in the way can lead to you saying things like, “But I’ll never become a professional so why try…” or my favorite “But if I can’t ride 25+ miles today, it just isn’t worth it”. Here is where I am pulling you up by your emergency brake and saying “ENOUGH”! YOUR “BUTS” are getting in the way of not only your ride, but your life. And it’s time to give up the ‘but’s’. Seriously.

I was once told that a “but” cancels out everything that precedes it. Hence why I’ve since adopted a “No Buts” policy. I now believe where there’s a will there’s a way. You see, a “but” is essentially an excuse as to why you can’t have something. To live a life of excuses isn’t very empowering. In fact, it’ll stop you from getting the results that you want.

So why do people fill their sentences, and thus lives, with buts? Because at a deeper level they’ve been programmed to believe that life isn’t a field of strawberries, that some people can’t have what they want, that life has to be difficult. If this is you, stop! Life is exactly as we believe it to be. Our beliefs are what create our reality. Believe in something enough, really truly believe something, and it will happen.

This week I encourage you to notice every time you say “but”. And then really question whether there is any truth to the but (which generally there won’t be – it’ll just be a figment of your imagination) and start to explore alternatives such as: What if I could do this? What if I gave that a go? Give up your buts and just notice how your life starts to transform into a world of opportunities and happy endings.

Now get out there and ride…

Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

August 25, 2014
HOW FAST CAN A BRUISED EGO HEAL?

I have written recently about the “off season” and how I look forward to moving my body differently during the winter months  – repairing both my body and mind from the grueling pace of training when I am in season. But even a “Derailleur” can learn a thing or two about what does and doesn’t work. And that includes how to repair a “bruised ego”.  Now, you haven’t been reading my blogs thinking I was perfect did you? Of course I am not. I make mistakes all the time. But I make all new ones and never the old ones over and over again. That was until last week. I did make one old mistake that I had made years earlier as a young 20-something eager to prove I could ignore my body’s messages of pain and push through it. Pain is different than discomfort. Remember that for this story.

I ranted and raved on the benefits of moving your body differently and taking inventory of your mind during the off-season. Walking my talk (or should I say pedaling my pedals?), I have enjoyed the first few months in Vermont of coming off the roads and into warmth of the gym. That was until I was challenged by “Angie”, a CrossFit workout of the day that is what they call a benchmark workout. It is designed to test your fitness level by throwing 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, and 100 air squats at you to see how long it would take you. You can do them unbroken meaning you can take breaks in between, but you must do all 100 pull ups before you move on to the push ups, and so on. I walked into my local CrossFit box, saw the workout and said, “no problem, I got this, it won’t be fast and it won’t be pretty, but it will still get done.” And so, the music went on, the clock set and off I went.

What I realized was that my months of lower body work on the bike was actually a detriment to me when I was 20 push ups in (and after a painful 100 pull ups) and I noticed an odd sensation in my arms. They were painfully tingly. Not just tired, not sore, but painful. And then my arms blew up to twice their size. I looked like Popeye! But not in a good way.  I looked at my CrossFit Coach and asked him what he thought and he said “why not stop now and move onto the sit ups…you are doing great – listen to your body”. But I made a crucial mistake at that very moment. I thought “nah…I am going to do all 100”. And I continued to crank them out. When I got to 80, I couldn’t move my arms any longer. I stood up and walked over to the wall to begin my sit-ups. But I couldn’t cross my arms over my chest…in fact, I couldn’t touch my face with my hands. I felt such pain in my elbows; I couldn’t bend my arms to touch anywhere close to my face.

I did a modified sit up with my arms by my side and then easily knocked out 100 air squats (thank you hill workouts this summer). I was done. I looked at the clock and sighed…as I had predicted; I did it, it wasn’t fast and it was far from pretty, but I got it done. Well except for 20 little push-ups I just couldn’t get out. I headed home tired and proud of what I was able to accomplish. And in pain.

The story of course doesn’t end here because the title of this blog mentions how my ego had gotten damaged. What I should explain was that my arms actually got the worst of the injuries – I wound up micro tearing both of my arms in the bicep and tricep area. I could not touch my face, my head, or bend my arms for days. My arms throbbed painfully leaving me to ask for help washing my hair, brushing my teeth and doing ANYTHING that required me to bend my arms. Yes, I know, that basically means doing anything. When I asked for help from my friends and family, I had to explain what happened and why I was suddenly helpless. With each time the story was told, my ego took a little more of a hit when I realized that I was the only person to blame for this predicament. I could have stopped. I should have stopped. I needed to stop. But my determination to continue left me injured and out of the game for a full week.

What if I had stopped when my Coach suggested? I would have been able to work out the next day, and the next day, and the next.  Instead my bull-headedness caused me to sit out for a week. So what was the smarter thing to do? Prove to myself I could do it or listen to my body. I have know been reminded AGAIN of that answer.

My injury has healed, but my ego has one heck of a scar on it of a lesson I will never forget. Push past discomfort…stop at pain. Lesson learned. I am humbled. But smarter.

Anyone else ready for the “off season” to be over?

Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

February 10, 2014
EXERCISING YOUR CHANGE MUSCLE.
GET WITH THE PROGRAM!

My job as your “Derailleur” is to remind you if you want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer – look no further than exercise. The health benefits of regular physical activity are hard to ignore.

But let’s address the most forgotten and underdeveloped muscle in our bodies – my favorite one to use. This muscle is often our weakest muscle but one of the most important muscles we could strengthen. So while you are making resolutions to get into shape in 2014, don’t forget to include exercising your “Change Muscle”!

Where exactly is your Change Muscle located? It actually covers every inch of your body and every inch of your mind. It’s the muscle we use for creating changes in our lives, and like our physical muscles, it becomes weak if we don’t train it. Ariane de Bonvoisin, introduced us to our Change Muscles in her book “The First 30 Days.” She suggests our Change Muscle develops from “all of the changes that we have been through – the big ones, small ones, unexpected ones and the ones we have initiated.” And if we learn to strengthen our Change Muscle, it can become the most useful muscle in our bodies! The stronger it is, the easier it is to navigate change. Increased comfort with change means increased comfort with anything that comes our way.

Strengthening your Change Muscle is similar to strengthening your physical muscles…it means effort, a little sweat and incredible results if you stay dedicated. For the beginner it is important to build a base of core strength and flexibility before moving on to more complex workouts. The same can be said for strengthening your Change Muscle.

Step 1: Assess your fitness level and your Change Muscle strength.

You probably have some idea of how fit you are physically. Assessing and recording baseline fitness scores give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress. The same is true for assessing your level of strength of your Change Muscle. By determining how quickly you traditionally navigate change, how often you get stuck in change or how much change scares you; you will have a good sense of your Change Muscle fitness level. If your answers to these questions include “change is hard, change is paralyzing or change is terrible” then it requires a different level of strengthening that if your answers are “change is ok, I welcome it”. Assessing your comfort level with change is the first step to understanding the work that your Change Muscle needs to become strong and powerful.

Step 2: Design your Change Muscle fitness program

It’s easy to say that you’ll exercise every day. But you’ll need a plan. As you design your fitness program for your Change Muscle, keep these points in mind:
- Consider your change fitness goals. Having clear goals can help you gauge your progress. Determine what success looks like and estimate how long it will take you to strengthen your Change Muscle to the level you desire. And be realistic. If you haven’t used your Change Muscle recently, like a muscle in your body, it won’t snap back into shape immediately. It will take time. But remember the rewards of putting in the effort.
- Put it on paper. A written plan may encourage you to stay on track. What change are you focused on and how will you know when you are successful? By writing it down and logging your progress, you dramatically increase your odds for success.
- Go at your own pace and load gradually. If you’re just beginning to exercise your Change Muscle, start cautiously and progress slowly. The goal is to gradually improve your range of motion, strength and endurance for your Change Muscle. Not to burn it out in the first workout. By increasing your load gradually the little changes that once seemed huge will appear tiny in the rear view mirror. By starting small in the beginning you will ensure sustainability in your workout. And your body gets used to the new challenges you introduce to it. With each day, you will build up your Change Muscle stamina.
- Build activity into your daily routine. Finding time to exercise your Change Muscle can be as much of a challenge as finding the time to move your physical body. To make it easier, schedule time to exercise your Change Muscle as you would any other appointment. Plan to take 5 minutes a day to exercise your Change Muscle and focus on the change you wish to make.
- Deliberate practice. Daily effort and deliberate practice will be key to your Change Muscle. Like anything you practice, if you “half attempt it” you will get “half success.” So practice the change with dedication, intention and mindfulness.
- Allow time for rest and recovery. Many people start exercising with frenzied zeal — working out too long or too intensely — and give up when their muscles and joints become sore or injured. Plan time between sessions for your Change Muscle to rest and recover. Don’t try to change everything, all day long…remember that with 5 minutes of practice everyday, the Change Muscle will get the workout it needs and the recovery to continue the change the next day. There is a great deal of “under-recovering” in workout regimes as we seem to try and make up for all of the time we were not working out, but this creates burn out and is unsustainable.
- Fuel your Change Muscle properly. Like with any workout, the body needs fuel to continue its effort. The same with your Change Muscle. No fuel, no energy to face changes. The fuel to provide your Change Muscle? Motivation and celebration! By charting your progress, celebrating small victories, or inviting a friend to join you in your “change-workout” will increase your success exponentially.
Now you’re ready for action. Remember to monitor your progress and listen to what your Change Muscle is telling you. Too much too soon brings pain and decreases your chance for success. Not enough effort won’t give you the results you want and you’ll give up sooner. Picking the right “equipment” for your Change Muscle workout is also important to your success. Your equipment may mean exercising with a friend who may also be looking to make similar changes so you aren’t working out alone. And if you do lose motivation, set new goals or try a new activity. Stay creative and keep things fresh.

Starting an exercise program to develop your Change Muscle is one of the most important decisions you can make. But it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. By planning carefully and pacing yourself, you can establish a healthy habit that lasts a lifetime. And like any good exercise program, small movements, gradual load increase, deliberate practice, and rest and recovery are key components to strengthening your Change Muscle.

Now get out there and show off those “change muscles”!

Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.
January 14, 2014
ARE YOUR RESOLUTIONS ON CLEARANCE YET?

TURNING NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FROM FICTION TO NONFICTION.

As I walked into a major book retailer, I was assaulted with reminders that it was the end of December, which means resolution time, and that our new year’s resolutions often “go on sale or clearance”. Books titled Rid Yourself of Doubt, or Should You?”, “Tremble Your Way to Fitness”, or “Reorganizing Your Pockets” serve as great fuel for change and promise solutions to become the person your dog thinks you are. As millions of Americans make decisions to “Change” their behavior through resolutions, it should delight me as a “Derailleur” that so many are willing to face a toleration, a behavior or thought pattern they would like to change. But what dampens my spirits are the unkept resolutions that plague us all. These unfulfilled resolutions then become the fuel for the thoughts like “I can’t do anything right, I’ll never change, etc…” and for me, that is the head-trash-talk that needs to end!

New Year’s resolutions are often put on “clearance” like a retailer puts products on sale when they have gone past their shelf life or are deemed “unsuccessful”. Personal resolutions get kicked to the curb because they are “too hard”. Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of how to get started…these are all reasons resolutions wind up in the trashcan instead of implemented into your life. A resolution involves change and change, although inevitable, fights us every step of the way. So what can make a resolution “stick” instead of becoming something you throw away two weeks? Call in Environmental Design.

Environmental Design might be one factor in your success or failure in keeping to your resolutions this year. And by Environmental Design, I don’t mean the spatial design show on HGTV or in a gardening article in Better Homes and Gardens. Environmental Design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products…and in this case, even behaviors. Often used in Architecture, Urban Planning, Landscape Design, Interior Design, and in this case, Environmental Design is the skill at addressing surrounding environmental factors when devising a desired behavior change.

Ok, so what does this have to do with a new year’s resolution? Often, when we have decided to make a behavior or thought pattern change, we forget to scan our environment to see if it is designed to support us or derail us. And Environmental Design is the choice to have your environment support you and removing obstacles or draining factors that ensure failure. In fact, by creating a supportive environment, your environment does most of the heavy “lifting” allowing you to reduce your energy output and save it for celebrating your success.

Environmental Design is made up of 9 surrounding environments including your relationship, network, financial, memetic, self, spiritual, nature, body, and of course, your physical environment. If one of these environments challenges one of the others, disharmony is created and thus an obstacle is created and basically dead in the water. Why? One of the theories of Environmental Design is based on “your environment always wins”. Sheer will, determination and stubbornness have a finite tank. Eventually, you will run out of will-power fuel. If your environment does not support you or creates obstacles, your determination and will power are spent fighting the challenges and you lose energy…fast. If however, the environment is designed to support you, you have to use much less willpower fuel (if any) and you flow through the change feeling supported and successful. With designed environments, will power and commitment become optional.

So, back to taking your resolutions “off sale” and designing an environment to keep them this year.Consider perhaps taking the following steps:

1.  Awareness is the first key. How does one know if their environment is supporting or impairing them? First, look around you and ask yourself, “What excuse have I made around my resolution?” From behind the excuse hides an environmental design flaw. Scan your 9 environments for obstacles that are getting in your way of succeeding. For example, if your resolution is to start eating a clean diet, are you surrounding yourself with processed, gluten filled food? Look in your car for chip remnants, smells, etc. that remind you of life before eating Paleo. Scanning your environment for factors that slow you down or even stop you from your efforts.

2.  Design your 9 environments to support you. For example, share with your network or relationship environment (often called your “peeps” or your “inner circle” depending on your age) for support in your quest to kick the sugar habit. Make them aware of your resolution and request their support in achieving your goals. That might mean not inhaling a candy bar in front of you or perhaps congratulating you when you hit a milestone in your resolution.

3.  Deliberately practice your new behavior pattern. And by practice, I mean give it mindful, aware-based effort. This is one step we often forget. How does a bad habit occur? We do something over and over again and it sticks. So how do you create a good habit? Do something different over and over again until it sticks….and ultimately overshadows the bad habit. And by deliberate, I mean practice as if it was “game day” not just a scrimmage. We so often sleep through our actions – allowing our bodies to go on auto pilot, but with any behavior change, deliberate, mindful actions create a deeper of performance than if you just “went through the motions”.

4.  Continuously scan your environments for roadblocks or tolerations that keep you from succeeding. Deliberate practice also requires feedback and self-observation and reflection. Great time to bring your relationship and network environment back into the picture – if you are doing something over and over again and you aren’t seeing change…ask for feedback. Am I doing this right?What are you seeing? Be prepared to look for and accept feedback.If you don’t know where you are, how can you know how far you have to go?

5.  Finally, celebrate your successes! This one is hard for many of us as we forget to do the “victory lap” when we have success.Instead of saying, “Wow, that took a lot of support, effort and deliberate practice to take that baby step, I should be very proud of myself” we say, “I can see some movement, but I must try harder.” So right at the moment when we should celebrate how far we come, we sabotage ourselves not being able to see what it took to get us there. Becoming aware of what got us there, keeps us from forgetting what it took if we get derailed. So do a victory lap – call a friend to celebrate, take time for yourself, eat something nourishing – whatever it is that makes you feel good. And while you are celebrating, remember what you are celebrating….your efforts, your environmental design and your deliberate practice.

So this year, before you put your resolutions “on sale”, try something new – design your environment to support your resolution and with deliberate practice watch your resolutions become exactly what they are suppose to be, a resolution to an issue you have faced but face no more! Happy New Year!

Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

December 29, 2013
OFF SEASON

FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN.

My job as a Derailleur is to support you on your journey. Both your journey in-season and off-season. Your in-season journey may include becoming a stronger rider on hills. Your in-season journey may include mastering sneaking out of your house to get your ride in so you have “you time”. There is no judgment either way. There is an ebb and flow to your journey and that includes allowing yourself an off-season. For both your body AND mind. So what is your off-season journey made up of?

For those of us who call New England home, the off-season is a forced break from the treacherous, icy roads when we instead spend countless hours on our indoor trainer. Off-season for some in more “more temperate” climates may mean that their competition schedule is over and they are just “riding to ride” – mileage gets lower and training less intense. Or in the example of my friend in Florida, her off-season is in the dead of summer when temperatures and humidity force a counter-seasonal off-season for her. She claims her best rides are in the winter. So be it.

Either way, we all have to face the off-season. This means the foam roller may make its initial debut or that we head to the much needed Chiropractor or Functional Movement Screener. But this year, I challenge you to focus on what is and isn’t working during your off-season in your body AND mind.

Some of us work all year so we can have an off-season, while others dread it; afraid of slowing down, losing strength, gaining weight, etc. But you don’t have to be an Olympian to feel the “off-season blues. It is normal to feel fear around “slowing down” or “throttling back” when we have been pushing ourselves to move forward. Perhaps another way to look at this time is as a “Transition Period”. This to me means we are transitioning from a yearlong season of races or hard training into something less taxing and less “traditional”. Much different than the usual thought that an Off-Season means that you just stop what you are doing.

I prescribe off-season time for my athletes as a chance for them to reflect, recoup, recharge and regain. And to fall in love again. It benefits both their bodies and mind. An intentional well-executed transition period puts one in a better position to perform in the new season when it’s productive and enjoyable. A poorly planned/executed off-season leads to not being as fresh, or a potential dead battery far from recharged. So I ask my athletes to fall head over heals in love again during this transition period with their sport. As an athlete, you must rediscover why you fell in love with your sport in the first place. We often lose the “whys” during season. By taking a step back so that you can reflect will give you back that perspective. And one heck of a recharge.

I have never claimed to be a trainer of the body, but more of a trainer of the mind. However, I would like to offer some examples of how my athletes use their “off-season” to recharge their body ultimately increasing their mental conditioning.

For some of my athletes, they stay strong in the off-season by reducing volume, not intensity. Study after study reinforce the idea that it is possible to reduce the volume of training by more than two thirds without a drop in conditioning levels as long as the intensity level was sufficient. My athletes use general, not specific training during this time period. They do something different than being hunched over their bikes. These new activities invigorate them. Try a sport that makes you stand upright or an activity that is counter to the one you have been doing in-season. For some, that might mean developing the weaker muscles that gets underutilized during the season but when strengthened, adds to the overall conditioning of the athlete. My athletes find that “playing” in the off-season more than training is the key. Make it fun. But most importantly, make it different that what you would do “in-season”.

Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

December 12, 2013
WHAT’S YOUR STORY?

I admit it, I am a junkie. I crave a hit everyday. I can’t seem to live without it. My newest addiction is TED.com. There are worse things to be addicted to I guess, but it still feels like being under its powerful grip is like I am doing something wrong. TED.com’s tag line is “riveting talks by remarkable people.” And if hearing stories and ideas from remarkable people is an addiction, then count me as a happily addicted person who seeks no cure.

As a Derailleur, I hear stories on a daily basis from my clients. Stories of failures, stories of “stuckness” and stories of survival. And of course, after working with a client for a few months, those stories of “not enough” turn to stories of success. So it gets me thinking, “what story do you tell yourself everyday?” What do you replay in your head over and over again? Is it one of victimhood? Is it one of survival? Or is it one of hope? What would your TED talk be about if you were asked to get on stage and share your story?

One of my favorite stories on TED.com is Amy Purdy’s. Amy tells a tale of how to draw on inspiration from life’s obstacles, having lost her legs from the knee down in a random act of life. Then there is Kelly McGonigal’s talk about how to make stress your friend, which is a mind-blowing-paradigm-shifting talk. And Apollo Robbins’ talk on “misdirection”(…how does he change his shirt mid talk without anyone seeing by the way?)…incredible. These are real people with real stories to share. And everyone has a story to share. Even you.

In business, storytelling is all the rage. Without a compelling story, we are told, our product, idea, or personal brand, is dead on arrival. In his book, Tell to Win, Peter Guber joins writers in evangelizing for the power of story in human affairs generally, and business in particular. Guber argues that humans simply aren’t moved to action by data dumps, dense PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets packed with figures. People are moved by emotion. The best way to emotionally connect other people to our agenda begins with “Once upon a time…”

We are creatures of story, and the process of changing one mind or the whole world must begin with “Once upon a time.” But what if the mind we need to change is our own? How do we listen to our own story to change our own mind about who we are and what is possible?

If you have read any of my blog entries, you will know that I am a firm believer in “we are what we think”…good and bad thoughts, we are what we think we are. So if your story is one of failure, loss and victimhood, guess what? Unless you find an ending that includes lessons learned, you will never make it on to a TED stage. Why? Because the formula for a good story in life and on TED is a lesson at the end. Whether it is children’s fairy tales, Shakespearian plays, or Harry Potter books, they all have incredible drama baked into the stories, but at the end, the lesson is the key to the story. So if the ending of your story is one that doesn’t include a lesson, you will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. And that is truly the definition of insanity. I am a firm believer in making all new mistakes and never any of the old ones. That is success for me. And by learning from each mistake, my story ending gets stronger and stronger because I can change my own mind of what is possible for myself.

I am going to keep today’s entry short, well because I need to get back to my addiction; scouring the TED website to find more mind bending stories…but I am also off to write my own personal story. Because I want to be ready the day that TED comes calling for me to speak live…I want to be sure that I have my story straight. And to make sure that my ending is one I can be proud of. I challenge you to do the same.

Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

October 29, 2013
YOUR NUTRITIONAL PLAN.

Mind Food.

Back in May I brought up the idea of idea of mental conditioning in addition to your physical conditioning. As a Derailleur, I see so many examples of my clients whose bodies are as fit as an elite athletes but their mental conditioning is lacking. Thus they perform exactly as they “think” they will perform – poorly. This leads to the inevitable “bad ride” that weighs heavy on us for days long after the ride is over. And often that memory of the last bad ride leads into the next ride…and guess what happens? Yup, you have another bad ride. One key to fight off these negative thoughts is to make sure that our mind’s nutritional plan is healthy and “clean”.

Right now, eating “clean” or eating a Paleo diet is getting massive support in the medical community. Clean eating means eating less sugar, carbs and other items that make use feel sluggish. Bringing in “clean” mind food for mental conditioning is based on the same ideal. Clean, healthy thoughts make us feel less weighed down…more clear. Positive or clean thoughts drive peak performance.

So what does your current diet of mind food look like?

A diet of “can’t, must, won’t, shouldn’t, or only” is a diet full of mind clogging food. Nourishing your mind with the negatives leads to nourishing your body with what you “can’t” do. Positive thoughts like “can, will, want, or am,” can be just the power foods your mind needs. A multitude of studies, data and anecdotal evidence supports the notion that optimists experience less stress, stronger immune systems and overall better health than their Debby Downer counterparts. But it’s not always easy to look on the bright side — in our overbooked and over-connected lives, getting caught up in a cycle of worry, anxiety and negative thoughts is a norm in many of our lives.

But just like nutrition, it is easier to add a salad in than to take donuts away at first. So in this case, just “stop thinking negative thoughts” is like going on a starvation diet. Instead of negative thoughts, you must actually replace them with different thoughts. Your mind won’t “stop” thinking, so you have to give it a different thought train – so it is a great time to welcome in positive thoughts.

Positive thoughts or mind food helps you to maintain your self-confidence during difficult times with realistic, positive self-talk. You can use this powerful mind food to regulate thoughts, feelings and behaviors not only during competitions but also in your everyday life. Whether it is a full sentence, a brief, descriptive word or a mantra that you create to bring in positive thoughts, the idea is to bring in healthy, forward moving ideas to the brain.

Positive thoughts, affirmations or mantras can include:

· I am in control.

· I find all solutions within me.

· I make positive healthy choices.

· In all situations, I remain balanced.

· I choose to change my challenges to opportunities.

· I focus on the successes in my life.

· I achieve great and successful results.

· I feel confident and secure.

· I am filled with the energy of confidence.

· I persist with confidence.

· I am worthy.

· I kick ass!

Another idea for filling up your mind with positive mind food is to view life as a white painting with a small black spot in the middle. Most of us keep looking at the black spot and forgetting all the whiteness around, which is why a lot of people are miserable. But if we focus on more than the black spot, we have a new perspective that often leads to a bigger picture of what is really going on.

If you’d like to start watching what your mind eats, a quick first step can be to look around your daily environment to see what messages you are currently taking in. Do you sit glued to the TV watching the daily news? It’s ok to be “in the know” of what is happening in our world, but if you want to shock your system a bit, try skipping the news for a week. What you will find is that can stay very informed but you can monitor the messages that you take in. More messages of good than bad. More messages of “wins” than “loses”.

Another scan of your physical environment can be focused on your physical surroundings. Are your surroundings supportive of your new diet? Are there positive messages or images that surround you or is your office or home full of “junk mind food” designed to help you fall off the positive message wagon? Are there images of growth, life, love and happiness? Or is that pile of old clothes you meant to take to Goodwill months ago cluttering up your space and your mind with “I can’t even pick up this pile of clothes” – this can lead to “what good am I”, etc. A simple small step to make sure your environment is designed to support you can be key to your success.

My own personal mind food diet consists of a heavy dose of daily gratitude, 3 servings of “what I can do”, 5 servings of “I am statements”, 2 servings of “what I am working towards and why” and for dessert, a “pat on the back”. It is a balanced diet designed to support me in my current life and inspire me in my future goals. Sure do I “cheat” once in a while and a negative thought slips in…no one is perfect. But my negative thoughts are far and few between and I am able to catch them quickly and replace them with a positive thought instead. You might not be able to catch all of them at first, but try to catch it before you believe it. Just like chewing and swallowing food that lacks nutritional value, you always have a chance to spit it out before you swallow it!

Being mindful of what thoughts you are putting into your brain is as important as being mindful of food you put into your body. Both forms of fuel can either break down your performance or get you through the worst of times. And just like food, you have a choice as to what you allow to bring into your mind’s diet!

Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

August 29, 2013