As The Derailleur at Terry Bicycles, my job as your “Life’s Coach” is “to make it count”. What do you need to make count? What if I told you everything?

As a Performance Coach for my clients’ minds, I am reminded that placing a premium on a positive outcome – a personal best or a breakthrough of some sort is not uncommon during their goals for success during a race or an event. But what happens in your day-to-day journey on the bike (and in your life)? Do you intentionally set a goal to have a breakthrough or a PR each time you go out and ride? Probably not. Perhaps you are like me where the victory is in actually getting out and getting your ride in. Juggling family, their needs, your work and life itself, just getting out on the bike for a mile can be a major victory.

So let’s just assume that that is an every ride goal – getting out there. But what if we set an intention to make each ride count…for something? Every effort needs to mean something, but maybe that something doesn’t always have to be aimed at furthering a race goal. Maybe it’s just appreciating the movement of your body or the unique clarity of mind that only comes with a good sweat session. We get so stuck on “progress” that we don’t fully appreciate the “process”.

Now, let’s take it one step further and ask ourselves what if we made “everything count” as we moved through our day off the bike. Making “it” count may mean being more intentionally, mindful or being fully present during an activity. Imagine what your trip home from work might be like if you “made it count”? Perhaps instead of listening to the radio chatter, you turned the radio off and used the time instead to listen to yourself. Aren’t you worth listening to? Who knows, there might be an idea ready to pop just waiting for you to listen to. But you are making the time count in the car. And that counts.

Or what if, during our lunch, we chose to make “it count? In this case, maybe “it” is eating. Maybe that looks like slowing down while we eat, looking at the food we have chosen to nourish ourselves with, and perhaps reading a document that also nourishes our mind? What might that help with? Again, we might not see the progress immediately, but let’s think about the process.

So the idea of making “it” count is about mindfulness – not in the long, contemplative mediation mindfulness that so many of us claim we don’t have time for, but about 5 minutes of intentionally practice of something. And with the mindset of making “it” count. With the idea of appreciating the process, perhaps we won’t get so caught up in the progress and can just enjoy things as they are. That is what counts.

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.

Photo Courtesy Ron Wu