10 Principles of Athletic Success
There are many, ever-changing methods to achieve athletic success. However, the principles of athletic successes are few and permanent. Simply stated:
“Methods are many. Principles are few. Methods always change. Principles never do.”
Although written through an endurance athlete lens, I believe that the principles and strategies listed are applicable to a variety of life situations.
1. Have a Purpose.
Beginning with the end mind, What do you want? To become? To do? Your future first begins as a narrative that your brain tells you. You must know what you want to accomplish and WHY this is important to you. Clarity is key. The more clarity you have with your desired outcome and why this is meaningful to you, the more likely you are to succeed in reaching that state. The journey to being better than yesterday requires you to know and continually revisit your “why”. This “why” will be the fuel for you to execute the actions that your dream state demands. Your focus in the moment is connected to your end vision. The clearer your vision for the the future, the easier it is to focus on what is currently required of you.
Having a purpose encompasses a lot- purpose for the interval, purpose for the workout, purpose for your goals, purpose for your life! In sport it boils down to being both physically and mentally present at training (completing your training with purpose) and to having goals (your purpose for completing the workout!). Have a purpose both in your training and for your training.
2. Follow a Personalized Plan
Having a purpose without a plan will inevitably lead to disappointment. The plan must be personalized to the individual- one that addresses both weaknesses and strengths. The plan should address the 5 following components:
- Overload and Recovery
- Progression
- Individuality
- Specificity
- Systematic Approach
More on these components can be found here.
“Shallow men believe luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” — George Waldo Emerson
3. Give Effort.
Honest efforts should be both smart and taxing- purposefully planned and progressively stresses your current fitness level. This all circles back to having a purpose with a plan. The not so popular “secret” to success- figure out what you want and then work as hard as you can for as long as it takes. Energy and Persistence conquer all things.
Success requires two things:
- You show up every day
- You give effort
Theses are the non-negotiables of chasing your dreams. Showing up and trying your best are the two things that you can control. Your goals and dreams won’t happen unless you try to make them happen. You have to put yourself in position to be successful- show up and try your best. Life is made up of moment after moment. Success is made up of winning more moments than you lose. To win the moment, you have to be in the moment giving effort.
4. Be Consistent.
We live in a world where the “secret” to success isn’t a secret- it’s discipline. The cumulative impact of daily action repeated over time is enormous. To do what others can’t, you must consistently and repeatedly do what others don’t. By daily acting exceptionally different than the majority with your habits, you make yourself extra-ordinary. Consistently repeated, this purposeful extra-ordinary behavior creates the habit of excellence. Talent is a gift, Greatness is a choice. Practice Habits lead to Competition Habits lead to Competition Results.
“What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.”
- John L. Parker Jr., Once a Runner
5. Display Adaptability
Find an answer, not an excuse. Make it work- no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the obstacle, you can usually find a way around it. If something comes up that you can’t figure out, ask for help!
E+R=O. Event + Response determines the Outcome. This has been called the success equation. An Event happens in our life and our Response to it determines the Outcome. We have no control over the Event but what we do control is our Response which then influences the Outcome. That Outcome then becomes the next Event that we must Respond to. This equation continually builds on itself so that it plays out in both the microscopic and macroscopic view of our lives to ultimately determine our success and happiness. The bigger the desired Outcome, the more difficult and longer it will take to give the required Response.
6. Be Prepared.
We never rise to the occasion, we either rise or fall to our level of training/preparation for that moment in time. Your level of achievement will always match your level of training and preparation. Again, preparation can be just as much physical as it is mental. Overprepare and then Go with the Flow.
“Winning is the science of being totally prepared.” — George Allen
7. Embrace Challenges
Challenges allow champions to see where they are in relation to where they want to be. They recognize that challenges provide a measuring stick and feedback to improve upon. The only real growth is through challenge.
“Do one thing a day that scares you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
With this attitude of doing one thing a day that scares you, challenges and failures are turned into learning opportunities. At some point in time, the word failure has transformed from an action to an identity- when all is represents is an opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Because of this view of failure, the truly successful embrace challenges and take more risks.
8. Input Shapes Output.
Quite simply, what you put in is what you get out. The most obvious of this is the physical: the food and liquid you put in your body. The quality and quantity of food and liquid is key. Input Shaping Output also involves the mental side- what enters your mind and what you let resonate. This includes TV, books, music, podcasts, and conversations. The information that you input into your mind informs your thinking patterns, and it influences your output in the form of the decisions you make, the work you produce, and the interactions you have. Motivation is a reflection of what you put in your brain.
9. No Limits.
World Records are broken regularly- only because someone thinks they can do so and then acts on this belief. One of my biggest pet peeves is people saying “I can’t do this” before they have even started. Whatever “it” is, if you are already telling yourself that you cannot do it, then what are the chances that it could possibly happen? You have no idea how strong or how you will respond in that moment in time when it really matters. If you are going to create a self-fulfilling prophecy for yourself, why not create a positive one?
10. Your Support System.
“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” -Jim Rohn
One of those 5 spots is automatically filled by yourself. The person you hang out with and talk to the most is not your significant other, not your son/daughter, not your family members, not your best friend, not even your dog… but yourself. This self-talk fuels your thoughts, and your thoughts then fuel your actions. Self-Talk, Thoughts, Actions…This is a never-ending cycle that influences how your view the world and events around you. More on this cycle here.
Since that top spot is filled, who should you select to fill those next 4? Two qualities to look for in who you surround yourself with:
- Those that have a positive attitude in the middle of a bad event/situation/mood.
- Those who continue to push you and themselves to be comfortable with being uncomfortable…driving to be better than yesterday.
“Show me your friends and I will show you your future.”
