To separate yourself from the crowd, you must stand out in a sea of average. To stand out, you must be willing to do the little things that average people are not doing.
When confidence, composure, and consistency are woven together the result is competitive excellence.
Find your excellence today.
Confidence
FAST is Better than SMART
With goals that is.
SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) goals have been the goal setting standard for years now.
Recently, an alternative approach to goal setting has gained some popularity.
FAST goals are frequent, ambitious, specific, and transparent.
Why are FAST goals better?
- When goals are frequently discussed, it is easier for you to stay focused on what matters most.
- Ambition goals cause you to reach beyond a goal you know you can achieve. They help you to stretch and challenge yourself.
- Being specific is the only carry over from SMART goals. When a goal is specific, you know exactly what you are expected to accomplish.
- When your goals are transparent to your teammates, they can rally around you and provide that extra boost you need to reach your goal.
Confidence Connection: Your confidence grows when you know you have prepared to the best of your ability. When you set and reach your goals, you can trust your preparation is working.
Composure
You Can! You Just Choose Not To.
Some people simply don’t want to work hard enough to be successful. That’s it. End of story. They can, they just choose not to.
These same people refuse to accept their responsibility for their situation. They seem to have a rolodex of reasons ready to justify everything.
Having a helpless, “I can’t” mentality that accepts life’s events as fate is having a passive mindset.
People with a passive mindset are justifiers. They justify every situation. They attempt to make themselves feel better by convincing themselves they are not responsible for any of it.
Don’t be one of these people!
The reality of the world is most of your outcomes are your fault. If you refuse to accept this fact, your situation will never change.
Instead of having a passive mindset, you need to develop an active mindset.
When you have an active mindset, you understand you control your actions. You take responsibility for your outcomes.
Things you can do to have an active mindset.
- Anticipate possible barriers and make a plan to overcome them. Don’t just accept them.
- Increase your knowledge and skills on your own. Don’t wait for others to do it for you.
- Choose to accept the challenge of working hard and paying the price. You can if you choose to.
- Take responsibility for your outcomes. Don’t be a justifier.
Composure Connection: “The hard truth is that most things in your life – good and bad – are your fault. The sooner you realize that, the better things will be.” – Shane Parrish
Consistency
Batteries Required
OK, maybe you don’t need batteries to keep you going, but you do need energy.
Where do you get your energy? From your nutrition.
Simply put, nutrition is what you eat and drink on a daily basis.
Too many athletes only think about the food they eat when they are hungry or someone calls them out for making poor choices. It is time to change that!
Proper nutrition gives you the energy you need to perform. It is also crucial to help your body recover from the wear and tear of training and competing.
Nutrition is important but it does not have to be complicated.
Proper nutrition for athletes boils down to two specific steps. Amount and Timing.
How much?
Different phases of training and competition require different amounts of energy. Your nutrition plan should change with these phases to meet your energy needs.
When?
Anyone who has ever endured a hard workout knows if you eat too close to the start, you will likely get to taste it again during the workout. Eat early enough to digest the food, but not so early that you use up the energy before needing it.
While almost everyone knows about the dangers of eating before a workout, many are not aware of the need to eat soon afterwards. Your muscles are most receptive to nutrients in the first hour after exercise. Refueling during this time is key.
You workout hard. You put in the time training. If you don’t include proper nutrition, it could all be for nothing.
Consistency Connection: You would never consider skipping a practice. Don’t skip out on proper nutrition either. A little planning to meet your individual needs and preparation ahead of time will go a long way toward helping you consistently perform your best.
** I am not a qualified Sports Registered Dietitian. This blog post is a summary of my thoughts from this article.
Quote of the Week:
“It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life … we can never help another without helping ourselves.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Be excellent this week. Do the opposite of average!
Yancey Sanderson
Follow me on Twitter @YanceySanderson
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