From Injury to Ironman: The power of redefining goals when things don’t go to plan

At the start of this year, everything changed for me. A ski accident on Christmas Eve resulted in a full MCL and ACL tear meaning two months in a leg brace followed by surgery and a gruelling rehab process. For someone who has always been defined by movement—training, racing, being active—it felt like I’d lost part of my identity.

Holidays were cancelled. Events in the diary including a hard worked for Ironman, were scrapped. I found myself not just recovering physically, but mentally processing the grief of everything I was missing out on.

Finding the strength to change my mindset

But somewhere in the fog of frustration, I managed to stop and make a decision to focus on what I could control—to shift my mindset from what I can’t do to what I still can. I realised I could use one of my strengths as an achiever in a positive way. It started small: Attempting to hobble/walk to the next bench along the prom each day. Gentle Pilates. Upper-body sessions. Mini rehab milestones. Then came the slow return to bike training and strength work. Each day I set a new mini goal to achieve and feel like I was moving forward not just stuck waiting. It sparked something.

Unexpected results

Then, to my complete surprise, a few weeks ago, my physio said I could still compete in the Ironman I had previously trained so hard for, if I took it easy and treated it with a different mind-set.

Two weeks of crash swim training later, I found myself at the start line - this time, not to chase a time, but to honour the process. I was just thankful to have made it there at all. The result? A personal best on the bike, a lap of the run completed, and a personal finish line crossed.

As I put the medal on my wall when I got home, I knew it had a special place in my heart. It wasn’t for winning my age group or getting my best time, instead it symbolised everything it took to get there: the tears, the discipline, the humility, and above all the mindset shift that turned a setback into a new kind of strength.

Resilience isn’t about pushing through blindly—it’s about recalibrating. 

This is the same when at work, as in life. In performance psychology, this is referred to as cognitive reframing: the ability to reinterpret a challenge in a way that empowers rather than defeats you. 

Right now, this is an important lesson to be reminded about in business, especially with the past 5 years of change and uncertainty throwing us lots of curve balls. Often, we start out with an exciting strategy or plan aiming towards achieving a big goal, then something comes along and knocks us off course. Those teams who are successful are those who are able to recalibrate and alter course when needed. Using their mindset and strengths to set new goals through small steps. It takes a new kind of hard work and determination.

To anyone going through a forced pause—physically, professionally, or mentally—your comeback might not look how you imagined. But it might just teach you more than the original plan ever could. And the success that comes may just surprise you…

Here @FizzPopBANG we work with companies to help create vibrant high performing cultures based on teams able to adopt a growth mindset and use their strengths to stay strong and thrive in change. If you want to know more, visit our website or drop us a line.

🌞 As part of our Summer Bonanza, we’re offering 20% off selected bite-size sessions—including our powerful “Leading Through Change” workshop. This session equips leaders to navigate the psychology of change, build resilience, and lead others with clarity and purpose through uncertainty. Now’s the perfect time to sharpen your change leadership skills—at a summer-special rate!

#Whistletowork #Resilience #MindsetShift #MentalStrength

by Carla Cringle, Founder of FizzPopBANG