Win The Morning | Claire Nesbitt | The Sean Trace Show

In this episode, I sit down with Claire Nesbitt - hybrid performance coach, Hyrox ambassador, and former wine critic, for a conversation about what it actually takes to level up in fitness, career, and life. 

Claire shares how she went from management consulting to sommelier to competitive Hyrox athlete, and why following your passion doesn't have to mean throwing away your stability. We get into the psychology of discipline, how to build routines that remove the mental cost of showing up, and why fear of failure is often the only thing standing between where you are and where you want to be. Claire also opens up about training through injury, the importance of recovery, and how setting small, specific goals is the real engine behind long-term progress. 

Whether you're trying to get consistent at the gym, make a career pivot, or just feel like you're moving forward again, this episode will give you something to work with.

What's one goal that you've been putting off because it feels too far away to start?

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

I rocked up. I think I messaged Hyrux on Instagram a couple of days before because I was too late to buy a ticket online and they said, okay, yeah, here's a ticket. Rocked up by myself, didn't know anyone, and ended up winning my women's race. Um really good running background. Um, and it wasn't as competitive back then, obviously, because nobody really knew how to train for it. Um but what that meant was it qualified me for the World Championships, which is held once a year the following year. Um, and at the World Championships, you have to level up in weights. You have to do what we call pro weights. And I was terrified because back then I was a bit of a skinny runner. I didn't have too much strength, and I was like, oh my god, how am I going to push a 150 kilo sled?

SPEAKER_01 1:02

All right, welcome everybody back to the uh Sean Trey show. I have an awesome guest with me today. Now, can you tell people who you are and what you do?

SPEAKER_03 1:10

So, my name is Claire Nesbitt. I'm currently a fitness uh coach uh and a hybrid performance coach. Uh, but before that, I spent six years as a wine critic. Uh, so working in the wine industry, writing reviews for wine.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

That's awesome. You have such a diverse background. I was I was doing uh my my research looking for guests for my Barrels and Roots podcast, but when we came down to it, you have such a diverse background, and your fitness um background is really interesting. And I want to ask you about that. How did you get into that? How did you get that going and how did you start down that path?

SPEAKER_03 1:50

The fitness path, you mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

Yeah. So I think I've always been into sports and fitness. So when I was a kid, I used to play team sports like basketball, netball, some rugby. Um, so I've always been active, I've always been interested in it, but not at a super competitive level. Um and then after university, I think like a lot of people with the busy job, you sort of start, you stop having time for all these team sports, you start going to the gym just to stay fit and healthy. I was into running for a long time and I picked that up um more with more passion, I think, when I started working just because you know I could fit it into my schedule, go for a run early in the morning. Um, but it wasn't until 2022 that I started taking fitness a bit more seriously and got more involved in the coaching side and the community. Um, and it's really through this sport called HIROX, which has only been around for the last, I think, eight or nine years, um, but it's really grown around the world. I don't know if you've heard of it.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

I've I did some research, but I'd love for you to explain what is it and how does it work?

SPEAKER_03 3:09

Yeah, so Hyrox is an indoor sporting competition. So it's usually held in like expo centers, but the race itself is a mixture of running and functional fitness stations. So what you do is you run one kilometer, usually in a couple of laps around this, you know, indoor venue, and then you go into the middle of that and you do a station. So that could be a thousand meters on the row, or that's you know, a sled push, uh, or some sandbag lunges. Yeah. They and they always stay the same. So there's eight runs and eight stations. So the race is always the same with the idea that no matter where you do it in the world, you can compare your performance. So kind of like a marathon in that sense, and not like Crossford, where they change all the exercises. And so it's it's become this global phenomenon and it's really grown. So it started, I think, in Germany in 2017 and then got really big in Europe and America. And then it first came to Asia in 2022 to Hong Kong, which is where I live. And I'd I think I'd heard about it just a few days before the very first race. Um, because some of the gyms here were hosting these Hyrux classes and encouraging people to go, but nobody knew what it was. So I rocked up. I think I messaged Hyrux on Instagram a couple of days before because I was too late to buy a ticket online and they said, okay, yeah, here's a ticket. Uh rocked up by myself, didn't know anyone, and ended up winning my women's race. That's what's going on. Um had a really good running background, um, and it wasn't as competitive back then, obviously, because nobody really knew how to train for it. Um but what that meant was it qualified me for the World Championships, which is held once a year the following year. Um, and at the World Championships, you have to level up in weights. You have to do what we call pro weights. And I was terrified because back then I was a bit of a skinny runner. I didn't have too much strength. And I was like, oh my God, how am I going to push a 150 kilo sled? So that's when I got into training for it really seriously. Uh, did a lot of learning about training in general and fitness. Um, and then over the next couple of years, I just got really sucked into HIROX. We built a community here in Hong Kong and across Asia. Um, I was invited to be one of five ambassadors for HIROX in Hong Kong. So I think people started to know me in the community for being an ambassador and also for being a good athlete. And I got really nerdy into the coaching side of things. Which is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

It's always cool to get nerdy.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

I I think so too. I mean, I just yeah, it's it's there's just so much to learn. I think that's the most interesting thing. And for a sport like Hyrox, which is not just pure running or pure strength, there's so many different ways that someone can train for it, and it's very individual. So, for example, for someone like me who came from a running background, I really needed to work on my strength and my stations. But for someone else who might have come from a background in the gym and is really good at lifting weights, they need to massively work on their running and their cardio endurance. Um, so there's a lot of ways to play around with the training, how it all fits together and just fit everything in. And yeah, so that became a sort of side project of mine for the last couple of years while I was working full-time as a wine critic. Um, and then as of early this year, it got to the point where I couldn't really keep doing both. I mean, as you can imagine, they they might clash a bit, you know, the wine industry and the fitness industry, but also just in terms of managing my own time, I'd grown my client base, so I decided to go all in on my coaching.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

That's awesome because it's um it's kind of like something that there are things that we excel at, and then when you kind of excel at it, you can find your passion as well, you know, and it's like uh if you my daughter liked clothes, and so my wife got her something, and she was like, ah, watch this tutorial. She wanted to cut the shirt up and make something new. And it was a disaster, it was an absolute disaster. The shirt was in 20 pieces, but her grandma helped her sew it together, and then it turned out to look okay. And afterwards, my daughter's like, that was cool. And so we bought her a little sewing machine, and she started making really nice little clothes. And I was like, and she started watching all these tutorials. And it's like you might have talent for something, but then there's a whole other level of getting into it, you know, and and for you, you know, you you got into this, it sounds like you're like, oh, let's just go for it. But then you're like, oh, hey, now I'm inside. How can I level up to match that that expectation? And not just the expectation, the the um the opportunity, the this like you've you've joined this world. I mean, it kind of feels like the fitness Harry Potter. You get in and suddenly you get your letters to, you know, platform nine and three-quarters, and you're like, wow, now I'm inside. Better learn about this magic stuff, you know?

SPEAKER_03 8:59

Yeah. How how old is your daughter?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

10. She's 10 now.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Okay, so she's at the age where she can start exploring all of her interests and go deeper into them and see which one sticks, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:13

100%.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

I think uh yeah. Go ahead and I think a lot of us, yeah. No, I just think a lot of us as, you know, in the adult world, we have to make a living, right? Like that's first and foremost. We need to support ourselves. Whatever we do needs to bring us financial stability, depending on what our goals are in the future, you know, whether it's raising a family, whether it's retiring at a certain age, you need to think about the financial realisticness of a situation. And so I think that can put a lot of people off pursuing their passions, which they develop as a hobby. You know, they do it for fun, they don't think about the money. Um But I do think that if you're, you know, if you're just stuck in a job that you don't really love and you have a side passion, it's worth trying to pursue that and seeing where that will take you. Like obviously, I'm not super idealistic. I'm not saying, you know, drop everything, drop your stable job and just follow and just do your hobby if it doesn't make money. But there are ways to make it into your life and make it sustainable financially, I think, if you put in the hard work and if you really are driven towards it. And, you know, if your job, whatever you're doing, doesn't bring you joy. Um for me, I think like I've been lucky to discover what my passions were and I threw myself into them. So first it was wine, and it still is a passion of mine. Like I still enjoy drinking wine, um, even though I'm really into fitness. But I mean, I started off working as a management consultant straight out of university. Um, I was working in London and it was a great job, but it wasn't my passion. Wine was my passion, and I took time outside of my job to learn about it and eventually thought, oh my God, I love this so much more than anything I've ever done. Um, and worked my way up in the wine world. You know, I started working as a sommelier in this tiny French bar with very low pay, and then eventually worked my way up. And I've done the same thing with fitness, you know, I've done that alongside, um, first as an athlete, you know, just being involved in sports myself, and then starting to coach people on the side, starting very small, you know, just with a client or two, and then sticking with that and putting in the work, and then it eventually grew as well, so that I then had the opportunity to go full into that, and that's also been my passion.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

It's interesting too, because a lot of people um put one foot in the water, then they pull back. And, you know, and I don't know, I don't think it's always fear. I think there's a it's challenging diving into something, whether it be I I was talking to someone who was a triathlete the other day, and what and I was asking, what does it take for you know, say I want to do triathlons? It's like a goal of mine that I have, but I don't know how to get from here to here, you know, and you've trained at a high level. What separates people who are serious from people who just say they are? You know, how what separates the people who jump in versus the people who just look at it from the outside?

SPEAKER_03 12:38

That's a really complex question because we're looking at several layers here. We're looking at whether you have the opportunity to dive into something. You know, it might not be your choice, right? You might not have the time to. If you're working a job with really long hours and you have a family to take care of, you just don't have time, right? Like if you want to sleep more than five hours a night, it's difficult. Or financially, if what you're interested in costs a lot of money, it just might be a bit out of reach. Um, but let's put those aside, because you were also asking about, you know, what differentiates someone who goes all in versus someone who just dabbles in it. Let's say that you have the opportunity to engage in your hobby. I think what separates then the people who are really like dive into it and become an expert in it is that they prioritize it. I think they realize that unless they make that their priority, it's not going to improve. Let's say it's fitness. Um there comes a certain point as you level up into something that you need to devote more time and energy towards it and you need to recognize that this is a priority. And I think what stops a lot of people from doing that is I think it is a fear. It's a fear of failure because, you know, if you if you don't try, you're not going to fail. That's how a lot of people think, right? Oh, if I don't put all my effort in, I won't risk failing, even though I've put all my effort in. Whereas I think for the people who do make it their priority, I think they've recognized that failure is just failing to start or failing to try. Because when you do put the effort in, you will most likely improve. Or if you put the time into something, you gain that expertise, you gain that skill. And uh you never know until you try.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

100%. I love that. Like the other day, um, my daughter was going up for a play, and it was at her school, and it was challenging for me because I wanted to protect her.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Um one of her teachers, she was going up for a character to play, and uh her mom's Vietnamese and I'm American. And the teacher said, Well, you're not Asian enough for this role, you're not this enough for this role. And I was like, Well, why can't she just audition for it? And, you know, I was like, all right, let's let's pull back. I don't want you to get rejected before you go down that path. But my wife was more balanced than me. She looked and said, let her try. Let her try. Even after the teacher kind of tried to shoot her down in the beginning. And my daughter went up for it, and she didn't get that role, but she got another role that she had a lot of fun with. And I think that I was, I've always been guarded, you know, oh, I might not succeed, so let's hold back. And, you know, and I think that sometimes those that analysis that we go, maybe I won't be able to succeed in a triathlon. So instead, I'm gonna sit on my couch. And so the reality of, well, hold on. If you simply get out your front door and start walking, even if you run around the block, you're on your path. It might not be, you might not be there yet, but that lap around the block is putting you in the direction that can lead to success. But not trying um doesn't get you anywhere. And I I I give my daughter credit because she took that rejection, she took that that um that judgment, that very unnice, not very nice statement. And she ran with it and just was like, I don't care. I'm gonna try it anyways. And no one's gonna shut me down. And I was just like, way to go, kid. Way to have that youthful wisdom. But you know, it's like what you're talking about. Kids, they're like, I'm still gonna try. I'm not gonna let someone shut me down. But we as adults are very like, I don't know, I don't know if I should do that. I don't know, man. I don't know if it doesn't have to be, you know, fitness. It could be just trying for the new job. It could be trying to go after a new career that, you know, yeah, maybe I really would like to do that, you know, that shift that seems scary or move to a new place. So I I love what you're talking about, and I love the the courage that it takes for people to try these things. But I think it's courage we all have. We just don't realize we have.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

I think it's courage that we all have, but I think you also hit the nail on the head, like us as adults, we're a bit more fearful. We have all the responsibilities. We've got, you know, the responsibilities of the world that we want to shelter our children from. Whereas kids, they're they're resilient. They're curious, they're resilient, and they don't know what failure is until they see it from our reactions. And so I think a lot of us lose a bit of that as we get older because there are consequences to things in the adult world. Um so I think it's it's about being realistic, but also telling yourself I have this fear of committing.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

And if it's something you're interested in, just be real, real with yourself and give it a go.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

It as you started competing at the higher levels, do you think it becomes more physical or does it become more mental to kind of show up and succeed?

SPEAKER_03 18:12

It's definitely a bit of both. Um so at the highest level of a sport, you need to train your body and your mind. Um, obviously, you need to be in peak physical condition, and it gets really tough because at the very top level, you have uh athletes who are just genetically inclined to perform really well. But you need both, right? You need the genes and you need the hard work because once you get up there, you're competing with the best of the best. And for me, though, performance, high performance is as much mental as it is physical. High performance isn't just, you know, doing well in a one-time race, getting a PB. To me, it means showing up again and again, no matter what the context is or the situation. So if you're feeling race nerves, anxiety, you didn't sleep well, and you still perform, that's what separates someone who is more successful at the high end of their sporting uh career to someone who, you know, breaks down or isn't as mentally trained or as resilient.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

It's interesting, like Richard pointed out. I did martial arts. And um when I was in martial arts, I did uh Japanese-style jujitsu, which is like judo. And I was good. I was very good for my level, non-athletic. And, you know, at my gym, I was one of the top, you know, guys. And then I remember going up against people from another gym that were physically just like amazing athletes. And I was just like absolutely destroyed. But you know, I kept showing up and I kept getting better. And the thing was, is like I could never match them in pure raw physical talent. Like they were a level ahead. But what's interesting is I was able to compete with a lot of these people by my grit, by my determination, by using, you know, my brain and learning different techniques to counter some of that, you know? And it was interesting because I had to even believe I could. And I had a great coach who looked at me and was like, you know what? Yeah, don't try to be just like them. You're not. And that's okay. You have your own set of strengths. And one of your set of strengths is your will. And that's a powerful thing to have. But I think that we have to know what our strengths are, you know, and part of the journey is figuring out well, what am I good at? What is the thing for me that helps me, you know? And it kind of comes down to this. And the question I want to ask you, it it's a bit of discipline. And what does discipline look like day to day when no one's watching? You know, how do you keep showing up at whatever time you got to wake up to get there and to perform when it's just you? There's no coach, there's no, you know, no one else, and you're sitting there looking at that alarm clock going, oh, hello, my old friend, you know?

SPEAKER_03 21:24

Really good question. But I also want to say that it's also amazing that you showed up and had the opportunity to play with the big boys because you learn a lot from that. I think once you recognize that you have that grit and you stick with it, if you, you know, you or me, if we train with someone who's better than us, then we learn. We get inspired. And also, you know, if you're a smaller athlete, you're not going to ever be physically as strong. You find ways around that. You get quicker, you get sneakier. You know, it's uh being able to. To be with people who are more experienced than you is, I think, a huge opportunity. Um for your question on how how do I stay determined in my training, that discipline, honestly, um I I love training, so I think that, you know, that's why I do what I do. Um I think someone else who doesn't like running at all would struggle. Uh so I think I am very blessed to enjoy my own training. But at this level, you know, I train twice a day, four times a week, and then I also train. So I train six days a week. Um and it's it's a lot of training. So it's it's quite structured. I'm training like an athlete, like a full-time athlete. And there are definitely days where I wake up and I think, oh my God, I don't want to go to the gym. I know this is gonna be a really hard session. I know it's gonna suck during the session. And then, you know, that's when my motivation might go out the door. It's no that I don't really look forward to that training and I have to rely, rely on my discipline. And I think for me, what's helped is that I've I'm so locked in. I have these goals that I want to achieve, and I know that if I don't go and train, I'm not going to achieve my goals. I will fail.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 23:25

And I don't want to do that. And I think what helps me is that I've made it my goal, and I've also locked myself into a very strict training schedule. So I've made it a routine. You know, every Tuesday morning I wake up and I know it's hard intervals on the row work. And I don't give myself wiggle room to get out of that. Because every single day is the same, week on week, so that I can compare it week on week, so that it's ingrained in me, it's built in, it's my routine. And I think that reduces a mental effort to get to the gym. It's like if I take away that choice of, oh, okay, I could do this workout or I could do that workout or I could do it later in the day, then my mind starts to like waver a bit and I delay making the decision. I don't end up going to the gym. Whereas if I don't give myself that choice, I just I just go along with it and it's less mental effort. You know, I drag myself to the gym and then the workout happens and then it's done.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

I love that. I love the um the habit stacking as well. If you compare it with other things, like one of the things that I do is like I make sure every day that I drive my daughter to school afterwards, I go straight to the gym. And uh it's one of the things that allows me to keep that that routine going smoothly because it's just that's what we do. You go here and then you go there. I think that one of the things that I find challenging is when you have to try to pull things out of thin air, you know, and like like if you're just like, let's go train, but when you have that routine, well, it's it's 7 a.m. Well, it's it's time for the gym. It's like it's that thing that you you you know. Uh when I had my daughter, and it was interesting, I never napped before. But then when I had my daughter, I would work from home and my wife would be traveling. I was a uh work from home dad, and you know, my wife was out doing her career and she'd be on the road. And I got in the habit of napping with my daughter from 12 to 1. Like that was nap time. That was the time I and still now, like, you know, we still rest. I was still like that 10 or that 12 o'clock noon comes around, and I'm just like, hmm, I am feeling a tad bit sleepy right now. And it's just because it was just this routine. And I mean, actually, I I keep it for my wellness because I find that I perform better uh in the afternoon when I have a quick nap. Um, but you know, I think it was that that habit that guess gets there. And it's hard to change. It's hard to change those habits. And so when you have positive habits, they are also hard to change. And that's a powerful thing with developing those positive habits, you know? But I want to ask you this: like, how do you handle pressure when expectations get higher, either for yourself or for others, people that you're coaching?

SPEAKER_03 26:16

Yeah, that's uh that's a good question. Um I think what helps me when I feel really overwhelmed and under pressure is talking to my partner about it. Because there's only so much that I can do. You know, I I believe that I'm quite resilient and focused on my goals. But, you know, there are negative thoughts that go through my head from time to time, especially if I'm trying to compete at the top or trying to be super productive and super successful in my career alongside that. Um, and then when that happens, I I need to talk about it. I talk to my partner. He's uh he's a personal trainer, so he very much understands the fitness world. He used to be a competitive tennis player when he was younger. So he understands the competition side of it as well. And I learned a lot about uh coaching clients through him because he's been doing it, uh, it's been his lifelong career. So when I feel that pressure, I I talk to someone. It's I think it's hard to go it alone sometimes, and you need to find people around you who support your goals, who understand, or even if they don't share the same goals, at least can support you through it and talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

I love that. I wanted to ask you this other question too, because have you ever hit a plateau where effort wasn't enough? You know, where you get just you hit that and you're like, how do I, how do you break through those challenges? Whether it be you're not feeling like continuing training or you've hit a personal record that you're just having a hard time moving past.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

So I haven't really hit plateaus yet in my training, um, which is great, which means that my current training program is working. That's awesome. Um but it's also because I have had injuries every now and then, which hold me back in certain areas. Um, so last year I had a partial tear in my hip flexor tendon, which put me out of running for several months yet. Um, so I couldn't improve on the running side of things, but I then adapted my training and I got really good at the stations in Hyruck. So I just replaced all of my running with time on the bike, on the ski erg, and the row erg, and I just became an erg monster. Um, so I, you know, I find ways around things. And I think even if you plateau in one area, you can always improve in another area because nobody is an expert in everything, right? No, nobody is the best at every single area. Um, but I think when it does come to plateauing, whether that's in fitness or your career or something else in life where you're feeling a bit dissatisfied, there's always something you can pivot to. There's always something else you can cultivate interest in, or maybe you just need to take a bit of a reset. So, you know, if it's if it's your training taking a week or two off to do something else that's fun, if you're losing the motivation. Um, or even, you know, your body needs change sometimes. If you do the same thing over and over again, it'll hit a plateau.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

I love that. And I I think that that's something that people don't realize is that you you do need variation, you know? Um, and I want to ask you this because you push hard, but how do you balance pushing hard with not burning yourself out?

SPEAKER_03 29:55

Good question. Um it's it's a fine line for athletes because they want to do as much as possible to increase our fitness. You, you know, the more volume, the more intensity, the more you push your body, the better. But you have to balance that with recovery. So recovery is everything in between your training sessions that allows your body to adapt to what you've done and retain that fitness and be prepared for the next training session. So it is a fine line. I think what's key to that is having a sustainable training program. So figuring out how much your body can take in and how much time it needs to recover in between the sessions. Because I'm, I mean, I'm a coach as well, and some of my clients are really good athletes, but a couple of them will just do as much as they possibly can because they can. You know, there's this mentality of, I can do it, you know, why shouldn't I? Why shouldn't I push 100% for each training session? Why shouldn't I do an extra 20 minutes of this? And then when that happens, they either burn out, like you said, or they don't make the most of their training. If everything is at like a nine out of 10 effort, then you're going to be exhausted for the next one and you're not going to be able to push when it really does matter. So I think to answer your question, it's being smart about it, maybe having a coach or knowing more about your training and making sure that it's sustainable as well as, you know, putting in your hard effort where it matters.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

I love that. Uh, what does your recovery routine look like? How do you go about bouncing back and healing when you've pushed? Like, especially you said you had that injury. What are some of the things that you do to help your body heal?

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Yeah, so I take my rest and recovery probably more seriously now than I did before in my 20s. Um for me, that's having a rest day every week. It's balancing out my training. So I don't do back-to-back days where I'm running hard or back-to-back days where I have a really hard workout. I always space it out. So this will be an easy day, this will be a hard day, easy day, hard day, something like that. Um, and I also have learned to work more closely with other people who are more knowledgeable about um injuries and my body. So I've been working with a physio really closely for the last year, which has helped a lot. It's just, you know, outsourcing some of that to a more knowledgeable person. So if it's your training, outsourcing to a coach, if it's something to do with injuries in your body, outsourcing to a physio. Um yeah, just getting all the help that you can get.

SPEAKER_01 32:43

I love that. I think that there's so much that people can do. And that you one of the things too, I think is for people is having a good team, you know, good, good trainer, good, you know, doctor, good, you know, uh massage therapist, whatever it is that you need, and making sure that those people you're you're leaning in on and enjoying the help that they can provide. Because I think that, you know, I I've had many different iterations of my life and career as well. And now I do media and content, but before I was this close to finishing my doctorate in Chinese medicine. And I just still have my clinic shifts left. But I love what I learned. And, you know, one of the biggest things of is uh in Chinese medicine is balance. That, you know, the whole focus of the system is trying to find that balance. You can push hard, but you have to have that time of rest. And balance looks different for every person. Um, but you know, it's like finding your equilibrium, you know, and you know, you can do more than you think you can, but then also you need to make sure that you're having that rest and recovery period as well. You know, but I want to ask about your your training, um, because how it affects the way you think about life outside of fitness. How has competing or training at that level shaped how you think about life? You know, has it changed it at all?

SPEAKER_03 34:09

Yeah, I think it's taught me to be more patient and resilient. I think because of these setbacks that I've had. So my hip injury, I've also suffered from shin splints on and off, basically since I was 17. It's like this chronic injury of mine that comes and goes and then, you know, takes weeks or months out of me running. It's it's forced me to focus on the long, longer term goals in my life, whether that's for fitness or other areas in life. And maybe that's just part of getting older, you know, you realize that you're not, you're not undefeatable. You need to look after your body or your mind, you know, you need to look about, look after in the in the sense of you've only got this one life, and ideally it's going to be a long and healthy and happy life. And what that means is not sacrificing your future or your future health for a short-term, like, you know, something short-term. So for me, it's if I'm feeling an injury coming on, or you know, I'm feeling really fatigued, it's just holding myself back and not pushing hard for this one race. Because even though I really want to do it, it might set me back for months afterwards and then I won't be able to race for half a year.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting too, because it's like knowing where you're at, knowing your limits and knowing, you know, and being able to focus on the bigger picture as well. And I think that's something that we can apply to a lot of areas in life, whether you're in your career, in your family, or just trying to get by in your day-to-day life, you know. Um, you know, all of us I think would like to succeed more, but you have to figure out how what that balance looks like for you. And I I want to ask one final question. Like, if someone wants to operate at a higher level than anything, what's a mindset shift that has to happen first in your mind?

SPEAKER_02 36:06

In what in what sense?

SPEAKER_01 36:08

Like someone wants to Let me let me change that question, if you don't mind. If someone wants to get out and feel like they're winning more, succeeding at just, you know, I'm getting to the gym, I am doing better at work. What's something that they can do that you think can help with that?

SPEAKER_03 36:28

Yeah. I think something useful is to set yourself specific goals. I think, you know, it's it's good to dream big and have a big long-term goal that you don't know if you'll reach or not. But in the interim, set little milestones for yourself that you can reach, which will keep motivating you to reach them. So, I mean, for for me, for example, my big dream is to reach an elite 15 race in HIROCs. That's athletes at the very top of the sport. It's the top 15 athletes. They race four times a year and it qualifies them for an elite 15 race at the World Championships. Um, but if I just have that one big goal in my mind, I don't know how I'm gonna get there. And if I'm far away from it, it's going to discourage me from even trying because I still have quite a bit before I can get there. So I think to feel happy and to feel like you're making progress, having specific goals that you can reach, maybe in the next couple of weeks or the next couple of months, you know, just getting that little bit better, that 1% better. And then you can keep going on that journey. And I think that's when you actually do get to make progress, when you set achievable goals for yourself, you reach them, you're proud of yourself because you've made progress, and then you keep going.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

I love that. It's one step at a time. I think that, you know, when I was a kid, I loved doing puzzles. And one of the things that I found with puzzles is that you want the whole puzzle to be done. But at the end of the day, with a puzzle, you're doing one little piece at a time. You find that next piece, you find that next piece. And I didn't realize that puzzles were the best analogy for life that I would ever have growing up. But really, they have been one of the best analogies because all I can do is put that next piece. And if I put enough pieces, I can accomplish something big. And I think fitness is the same, career is the same, building my business is the same. I'm just doing a giant puzzle. And I think that the best thing with puzzles was to be curious, to not get overwhelmed, and to have fun in the process. You know, and I think that I hope that I like what you said earlier about, you know, the way children look at the world. And for many years, I was a children's teacher and it it helped me see things with a fresh point of view. I told you there were many iterations of my life and career. Um, but you know, it it was something that I still am fond of that time because, man, kids help you look at the world in a whole fresh new way. You know, I might go, this is a piece of paper, and a kid's like, that's a fort. I can fold that up and create something really spectacular with that. Uh, this is a straw. No, that's like uh something for shooting spit like spitwads across the room, those little pieces of paper across the room, you know, or a sword or something. And I think that, you know, I think if we can have that mindset of just being open and exploring, it helps us go a long way.

SPEAKER_03 39:32

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 39:34

Where can people find out more about you and what you do?

SPEAKER_03 39:39

Um, so I'm quite active on Instagram. Um, I have two Instagram handles. Um, my fitness one is ClaireNesbit underscore coaching. Um, and then my other handle is claire.nesbit underscore, which is a bit more for life and wine stuff. Um, I know you found me through LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_02 40:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:03

I'm not as active on that, especially for uh coaching or fitness. So um Instagram is probably the best way to go.