4 Questions for Course Correction

Frustrated, I threw my hammer boots into my bag.

“What’s the deal? Why can’t I throw this stupid event like I used to? What has changed?” I was having another heated discussion with myself, and it was ending in a scolding.

I often talk to myself, especially at throws practice, but this conversation went beyond technical cues and self-motivation; this was a conversation more along the lines of, “McKim, what have you done, and how do you get back to where you’re supposed to be? Where you used to be?”

I think this is a conversation we all have with ourselves from time to time and, for many of us, it happens around this time of year. As a thrower, I have this conversation with myself, specifically, at least two times a year. Once is when I start my offseason and make my plans, and the other is usually halfway through my season when I’ve hit a slump.

Whether you’re a thrower or not doesn’t matter; I feel the following four questions can help you right the ship when you’ve run a bit off course. Throwing, training, fatherhood, your walk with God; all of us have times where we’ve grown complacent or deviated off course. Sometimes, it’s a gentle reminder of our deviation, but many times it’s a stark jolt of reality where we’re ashamed and frustrated with ourselves for letting it come to this. We’ve been to the mountaintop before and seen the views and experienced the euphoria, but what does it take to get back there when you’re now at the bottom looking down a long, dark trailhead?

How did I get here? What changes must I make? How do I implement change?

For me, it boils down like this:

1. What was I doing when I was most successful? What things did I emphasize that yielded the best results?

2. Have I deviated from those things? If so, why? Boredom? Laziness? Or just plain forgot?

3. To get me back to that, what are the "have to" things I need to do? I already know that some I'm going to love and enjoy, and some I'm just going to hate with a passion. BUT I know the results, and I KNOW it is worth it.

4. How do I make a course correction and get back to that? It's not a want to, but a have to.

From here, it’s as simple as answering these questions truthfully with yourself. Write them down, say the answers out loud, commit yourself to the solution. You've done it before, you can do it again.