Last week I woke up at 5am and really didn’t want to get out of bed to go the gym. It was raining outside, I’d been up the previous day at 4am and not got home until 9.30pm following three days of back-to-back sessions – I felt wiped out. But I’ve developed a habit for these sort of moments and having taken my own medicine thought I’d share it with you.

It was Josh Phegan who got me started with this idea which I’ve developed along with my 10’s, 25’s, 50’s & 100’s (see the very first four-i for details about this). Josh has an “Achievements List” on his phone notes and two years ago I decided to write out mine too. Now I’ve developed this to have two lists – one is my all-time Top 20 achievements and the other is for the year in hand. In 2014 I recorded 68 achievements and at the time of writing have 61 so far in 2015. “What’s the point?” you might ask – allow me to explain.

Nearly all of us have days or periods of time that are testing, when we feel run down, tired, not at our best. These moments are sometimes compounded because we don’t make the best decisions as our mood can govern our behaviour. By reviewing our achievements and focussing on the many positive things we’ve experienced and accomplished, we can remind ourselves of our potential and I find this to be a great way to shift my thinking and focus from the 5% of me that’s not feeling great to the 95% that’s firing perfectly well.

The other thing about writing these lists out is it causes you to think “is this enough?” and also, “what more can I do?” For me they are also a great starting point for planning the year ahead by reminding me of the things I enjoy and also challenging me to do more and better.

So having reminded myself that I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro, cycled across India, Sri Lanka, California and Massachusetts, completed the London Triathlon and loads more physically challenging events, a one hour session at UP Fitness was well within my capability, even if my trainer Matt Earls is full on and won’t accept a wimpy “I’m tired” excuse. So, up I got and had a great session leaving me feeling rejuvenated and in great form.