The Unexpected Path to Rapid Improvement

In my CrossFit gym I’m often at the bottom of the leaderboard. Even in my best events, on my best days, even when I have huge PRs, there are always many people stronger and faster.

I’m sure there might be a gym where I could rank higher, but I wouldn’t want that.

There’s a saying that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.

The Best Way to Improve Rapidly

The way to improve in anything is to play with people who are better than you.

Of course, this inevitably will result in a lot of defeats. And those can take a toll after a while.

I’ll admit that sometimes I find myself despairing about my position on the leaderboard.

When I start to feel the onset of the negative thoughts telling me that I’ll never measure up, I remind myself to look to the people around me and find new things to learn from them.

I watch how they train — not just their techniques, but also their mindset and attitudes, how they respond to setbacks and failures, how they push themselves, and how they rest.

Beyond the Gym

This approach works for anything you do, including your business.

One reason why being a solopreneur can be so hard is that you don’t really get to see other people in action behind the scenes. You don’t get to see how they show up, how they work with clients, how they do the boring work.

This is why we need coaches and community.

Self-Learning Won’t Help You Improve

Learning from videos, books, self-paced courses, or even online courses that are simply a transmission of information, isn’t enough to help you make real improvement.

Not is it enough to learn and practice skills on your own.

To improve, you need to be in proximity to other people who do it better, so you can see them in action, learn from them, and receive feedback, guidance, and support.

It can be humbling to be at the bottom of the leaderboard.

But there’s no better way to improve than to put yourself in that situation.

How to Improve Rapidly

Find the people who do it better. Find the coaches who will push you to be uncomfortable and hold you to a higher standard than you currently hold yourself.

Open yourself to what you can learn and how much you can improve when you stop trying to have all the answers.