It is easy to fall off the tracks, to forget your goals, to get totally absorbed into all the day-to-day life activities, and before you know it, its weeks, or even months since your initial “fall off the tracks”. This is a common, very human phenomenon and I am no more immune to it than anyone else! The last time I wrote a blog post was in December 2021 and it is now 5 months later! So I thought in this blog post I’d do a little bit of introspection and share my thoughts on “getting back on track”.

First, lets look at what “falling off the tracks” means: 

The metaphor of “falling off the tracks” comes from railroading, and trains derailing- presumably caused by something unexpected on the tracks, or a misjudgement of speed or the line of the track. Before all the fancy technology that we have today, it was the role of the train conductor to manage these unpredictable variables and keep the trail moving smoothly forward; and because it was the job of the conductor to get from A to B without incident, he (or she) would probably not get a high five or big congratulations for every successful journey made. If on the other hand, there was one incorrect decision and the train derailed- well then the train conductor and his (or her) decisions around the incident would definitely have been questioned and scrutinised (even if the circumstances around the derailment were not within his (or her) control). Although the scrutinising is not comfortable, it is a vitally important process to make sure that a similar incident doesn’t happen again!

Similarly, in our lives, where we are the conductors, achieving our goals needs careful management or consideration of the variables. The similarities don’t stop there- just like the successful train journey’s we do not always give ourselves credit for the goals that we have achieved, and we are usually very critical of the journey’s that didn’t end well- the derailments. That is however were the similarities stop, nobody likes the feeling of failure, so unlike the train derailing, when we derail, we often don’t take the time to scrutinize and question why the failure happened. And, before you know it, its days, weeks or even months since the failure.

So, what can we do to get back on track?

1. Start with something small.

   Knowing when and how to start can be difficult. If you are finding it difficult to start, why not start by making your bed. There is a great YouTube video by Admiral William H. McRaven, a USA Navy Seal, who said that if you start off every day with making your bed, then you will have started your day having accomplished the first task of the day. Having completed that task will then give you a small sense of pride, and encourage you to do another task and another and another and before you know it, you will have gone through the day having completed many tasks. So getting back on track may look scary, but see if you can find something small to start off with and go from there. It may even help to write down and tick off these tasks…seeing a list of things that you have accomplished can be very useful in motivating us to carry on (it’s like congratulating yourself for the successful journey’s).

2. Know that perfection is not the goal and that failure is part of the deal.

   In the same video mentioned above, Admiral McRaven talks about how during training, they would have to stand inspection- their hats starched, buckles polished, uniform ironed, but despite all the effort in trying to get it just right, the inspecting officer would always find something wrong. The lesson here is that no matter how hard we try to control all the variables, failure may still happen. Accepting that failure may happen can make it easier to dust yourself off and try again.

3. Have a few cheerleaders and a support team.

   For the tough times its easier to stick to your goals if you have someone to lean on, to remind you of why you started it in the first place. Your support team is also a great way to keep you accountable- having someone check in on you and your progress and discuss hiccups and help you over come them. 

4. Reflect back and see what caused the derailment in the first place.

   As I said, this can be uncomfortable, but it is a necessary step to move on and hopefully be more successful the next time. Here is an example of a failed goal: The goal was for me to walk x3 a week for 30 minutes. I managed to walk once, but the other two times didn’t happen. Looking back, I came up with a couple of different factors that may have played into why I didn’t stick to it.

   • I wasn’t specific enough- I said I would walk x3 a week, but I didn’t specify when… so I walked once, the next morning I thought “I’ll walk again tomorrow”, “tomorrow” came and I said “I’ll walk tomorrow” and before I knew it, it was the end of the week. So I need to be more specific- walk on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday morning at 8h00

   • I did not factor in how unfit I was- so perhaps I was not being realistic enough. So perhaps I needed to start smaller- walking for 20 minutes and not 30 minutes

   • It rained for 3 days, so it was an easy excuse not to exercise- so perhaps I need a back up plan in case it rains- dancing with my daughter for 20 minutes.

From the above example you can see that reflecting back on why you “derailed” can be useful and bring solutions.

And on that note I do just have to add a little advertisement in here for the physiotherapy profession: did you know that your physiotherapist is equipped with tools to help you identify your goals (both exercise and getting you back to doing the other “life things” that you love), help you get back on track if you derail and be a cheerleader and accountability partner! 

So get yourself a cheerleader, have a look at your goals, and see why they didn’t happen, set new goals if you need to, know that “falling off the tracks” is part of the process and doesn’t mean failure, and start small.

Good luck and bon voyage!

Here is the link to the video I referred to above: https://youtu.be/pxBQLFLei70