Learn these 12 lessons now with no regrets ever.

You’re dangling your whole body for the audience to see, glitches and all. You are covered in sweat. Most people think you’re wearing a weird outfit instead of trendy running gear or maybe just a skin-tight swimsuit. You think you’re incognito with sunglasses and a hat. But underneath the costume you’re performing half naked at a sporting event where you paid over $1,000 out of your own pocket to compete. You put your personal reputation out there for all to see, judge and comment on your career efforts. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy the positive stimuli and ignore the other content to stay in a sport that requires tough skin and a lot of guts to compete.

Learn 12 triathlon lessons now with no regrets ever.

1. Be confident. If you think you can, you will. If you think you’re going to fail, you will. What’s your choice? First triathlon, another Ironman race? Obtain “AA” status? The confirmation of the result reveals our choice. Accept that confidence breeds confidence and courage to expand your comfort zone. Don’t be arrogant. It is a fatal flaw.

2. Track your journey. Unknown destination? She decided. You control that determination. A defined journey helps you know when you got lost. Support your partner’s efforts this season for their KQ’er efforts next year. Family vacation in Hawaii next season? Why not? The local races are fun though, but if your travel plans include other races, continue your adventure. You will never regret the race of your life.

3. Talking about training doesn’t improve your conditioning and worrying about racing doesn’t improve your performance. Start beyond inertia with a focus on defined learning objectives. Manage your time properly. Measure progress. Race. Then celebrate and talk. You will never regret saying something you wish you hadn’t.

4. Train with people faster than you for speed. Aspire to your abilities. Don’t let them shake your confidence. Yes it will hurt. All the others will also hurt you. A decade or two of deferred regrets for not trying your best will hurt you more than the physical pain of not letting yourself down when you tried earlier.

5. And train yourself to improve race hunger. Yes, it’s lonely, but this experience will prepare you for the final charges of the race to the finish line. Don’t waste your energy on negative thoughts that come up during long workouts. You will never regret thinking positive in training and racing. Be positive with yourself.

6. Smaller races also build confidence and build running skills better than training. Racing exposes gaps and provides feedback faster than training. They are also an opportunity to strengthen the resilience that remaps the brain for reward and motivation benefits. You will never regret your investment of time from the knowledge you gain in any career.

7. Manage your risks, not someone else’s. Plan race event scenarios to maximize recovery if something like a puncture or crash occurs. If you don’t prepare for the unexpected, you will regret it when the unexpected happens. Don’t waste emotional energy worrying about them. Just be prepared if a tire blows out.

8. Control your time. It manages to avoid time poverty. Schedule periods of time established by priority and availability. Include spaces to rest, sleep and have fun. Your controlled time will minimize time regrets in any retrospect of your life.

9. Say “no” to “yes” unless: 1.) you can meet your commitments, 2.) a request is aligned with your life’s journey, and 3.) it doesn’t delay your existing commitments. Too many “yeses” lead to stress, a perceived lack of competence in you by others, and possible depression. You will never regret your “no’s” if you achieve your “yeses” that guided you along your journey.

10. Harness your endorphins. Exercise generates a better body image, self-esteem and increases people’s confidence. You will never regret investing in yourself to feel better about yourself.

11. Ignore any thoughts of being your worst critic. Seek continuous improvement. Keep learning from others. Always be a tri-it-all instead of a know-it-all when opportunities for self-improvement arise. Don’t let temporary setbacks keep you from the sport. Leave them behind as you do with equipment used in a transition. People who stop learning regret not knowing more about the possibilities of improving their passions.

12. Be the best you can, not perfect. Focus on performance, not bugs or potential problems. There is a reason why time is measured in triathlons because no one would get a perfect ten. Don’t train for perfection. you are human Economics dictates the law of diminishing returns. You control when your best is good enough. It is before the motivation wanes and always before you give up.

You will never regret not taking that extra step to reach perfection.

At my 25th high school reunion, I spoke with a classmate who went on a journey to run a marathon in each of the 50 states. He had a status to reach his goal later in the year. His determination inspired me to set a goal of competing in a triathlon in each of the 50 states and Washington DC. For five years I was stable competing only in 14 states. Finally, my wife Chris said:

“It’s time to sign up and compete or you’ll be a bitter, miserable middle-aged man who regrets missing an opportunity.”

Telling others about my planned trip was not the same as going out and competing in the races. Think of it this way, my inaction put me in an undesirable position of violating one of the main reasons change management projects are unsuccessful. Or in my case, an uncompleted milestone racing trip. Instead of getting angry or taking revenge on her, I heeded her advice. She was as wise as a coach as a wife.

Avoid regrets by doing what you can now, instead of waiting until tomorrow to think about what you could have done yesterday. Build relationships with great teammates. Find a mentor and a great coach to learn the sport from others sooner with no regrets later.

In a display of best manners, think of your life as always going (forward). You will never be disappointed by not responding to an invitation from life denoted as “RSVP, regrets only.”

Have any of you convinced your fellow triathletes to trade regret for recovery so you can continue to enjoy the sport?