Achieve Your Dream - How to make this possible with Mike the Psych
It is now less than a month before the Olympic Games are due to begin. The athletes will be going through their final preparations in time for the games. For many of the athletes who get selected for the Games, this will be just another piece in the jigsaw which started to be put together some 4 years ago. How do our athletes know what their jigsaw will look like? How can they plan that far in advance? The key to this process is to develop a plan which breaks down performance into component parts. This Ezine will give you a basic overview of what you can do to develop your plan.
Define the Vision
The most important point you should start with is to define your vision. What does it look like? How long will it take to get there? How will success be measured? For many of our athletes, this will be to come home with an Olympic medal. Your vision should be something that stretches you to the limit and something that you truly believe you can achieve. It should inspire you to wake up every morning and work towards it.
Break down the vision
The next stage is to look at the vision, and see what targets you need to hit along the way to achieving that goal. These targets should be carefully designed so that they mark your progress in a linear fashion towards your ultimate vision. Ideally, this should take place a minimum of 3 times per year, at the start, mid and end points of the season.
Identify your performance goals
You will have identified your outcome targets but now you need to work out what performance targets you need to hit to help you achieve those goals. For instance, in the 200m individual medley, Michael Phelps will probably be looking to swim a time in the region of 1 min 54 to 1 min 55 seconds. This will give him the best possible chance of achieving the Gold medal. Your performance goals will change on a day to day basis. However they should work progressively towards the outcome that you will need to achieve the vision you set out to.
What processes do you need to work on?
To achieve your performance goal, there will be certain processes that you will need to work on. These are your day to day training goals. These should be identified with your coach, so that you go into your session with a focus on what you need to work towards today. Each process (e.g., turns) should be worked on until no further improvements can be made in that area. You should review your progress at the end of every session and look at what further improvements can be made in subsequent sessions.
Identify why you are doing this?
What are your key drivers? Why are you doing this? It is vitally important that you understand what is motivating you towards your goal as you are about to embark on a long and sometimes lonely mission. A reminder of why you are doing this will always help and will give you the energy you need in those really tough sessions.
Goal setting is an extremely flexible process but you must do this if you want to achieve something special. The plan is the most crucial part. Get your planning right and this will give you the focus and direction necessary to give you the best possible chance of achieving your vision. Good luck!
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