Field Notes 002 — Build a bank of evidence.

When facing your next challenge, you need a solid bank of evidence. Undeniable proof that you can do hard things.

For me, training is a way to build that. There’s something about knowing you can survive getting punched in the face that puts a business or corporate problem into perspective. You’ve experienced pressure in a very physical way, and you know you can deal with it.

That’s part of why I think it’s useful to challenge yourself outside work. You get to find out what you’re capable of in a different setting, then bring that experience back into the rest of your life.

When you start operating in this way, some people around you won’t get it. They’re looking at what you’re trying to do through their own limiting beliefs. What feels unrealistic to them might be something you’re prepared to put the work into.

Be open to being challenged, but be careful whose limits you take on as your own. That’s another reason to build your bank of evidence. You can listen to someone’s opinion without letting it outweigh what you already know you’re capable of.

If you’ve accepted a limit on what you can do, give yourself a reason to question it. Choose something demanding, prepare for it and put in the work. Build up enough evidence that the next time something feels beyond you, you have your own experience to draw on.

Make that part of your training. Use it to open your mind to what the next level could look like.