Dreams - Goals with a Deadline

With Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games days away, it seems like a suitable time to discuss “Realizing Your Dreams”.

Almost 2,500 athletes, having trained for years to perfect their technique and shave hundredths of a second from their “Personal Best” times will compete against other athletes for the right to wear a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal in their respective events. Generally, a Gold Medal in the Olympics represents the lifelong dream of many, if not all, the athletes there.

All of these athletes, their coaches and families, have sacrificed to varying degrees in order to earn the right to represent, and compete on behalf of, their respective countries and realize their “Olympic Dream”.

What lessons can we learn from their example?

The Olympic Athlete

Selected Above Their Peers

In order to perform satisfactorily as a professional athlete, a scheduled program of training is required. In order to perform at an Olympic level, the level of training (and commitment) is markedly increased. This is evidenced in the selection process through which an athlete is selected to represent their country in their chosen sport.

An athlete must have a demonstrated ability in their sport. This is a given, however, if not an actual prodigy their ability must exceed that of virtually every other athlete in their country, on a consistent basis. This ability is, generally, demonstrated at an escalating level of sporting events as their career progresses, first at a local level, then at a regional to national level, culminating at the international level at which point they are competing against, not only their teammates but athletes from other countries.

In order to compete successfully at this level, they need to be at (or near) the top of their sport. At this level, they are (generally) no longer learning new skills, but refining them so as to shave crucial hundredths of a second off their time. They are pushing their mental barriers, to take themselves a little further beyond their current capabilities and/or limitations.

The Training Regime

Life Revolves Around Training

Training, ideally, for an Olympic level athlete is a carefully scheduled mixture of physical training and relaxation / recuperation designed to bring an athlete to their maximum performance level at “The Games”. Training is frequent enough to hone the athletes skills and body to a peak of performance ability with enough intentionally scheduled time for their bodies to recuperate / rejuvenate / recover from injury.

Furthermore, athletes don’t simply train for a couple of months prior to an event, it takes years to achieve the skill and athletic ability to compete at an Olympic level.

“In fact, while there are exceptions, coaches and trainers say it’s common for athletes to invest four to eight years training in a sport before making an Olympic team”
- Forbes July 23, 2008

Furthermore, athletes at the Olympic level are continually pushing their limitations , both physical and mental.

A Burning Desire

Passion For the Goal

In Napoleon Hill’s Philosophy of Success (as presented in “Think and Grow Rich” and “Law of Success”), he emphasizes not simply desire, but a “BURNING DESIRE” for ones goals. This is certainly the case for Olympic caliber athletes like Hayley Wickenheiser, who played with a broken wrist in the 2006 games in Torino and was named one of the 25 toughest athletes in the world by Sports Illustrated.

The “Medal Dream” of an Olympic athlete is NOT simply a dream for the athlete, but a “GOAL WITH A DEADLINE“. The 2010 Winter Olympics are scheduled between February 12 and 28th, 2010. In order to successfully compete at the peak of their ability, they must be ready for that time-frame. Furthermore, in order to reach that peak in their performance, they are scheduling their training regime years in advance.

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.” - Napoleon Hill

Visualization

“The Zone”

In many sporting events these days, particularly at International events, one will see the athletes moving their bodies as they visualize their upcoming event. This is particularly evident at diving events and freestyle ski events in which they are moving their bodies in three dimensions as part of their preparations. They are visualizing the movements required of their bodies, remembering the feelings within their bodies as they successfully completed the same moves in earlier practice / competition. They are mentally programming their bodies as an integral component of their preparation.

Competitors in others events may not be as obvious in their visualization. Competitors in Luge, Bobsled and Downhill Skiing (among others) will be visualizing the track or course, mentally going over every inch, paying particular attention to those areas offering the greatest threat to their success. The competitors may only have limited opportunity to physically run the course in training before actually competing, however, they will be running the track / course, together with the associated challenges, through their heads many times before they ever compete.

Mental Programming

Reaching “The Zone”

The News Tribune posted an article entitled “Push Like an Olympic Athlete in which they describe an athlete’s performance and concentration in “The Zone”.

“The zone has been described as “a heightened sense of awareness.” Everything becomes easy. Time seems slower, so there’s plenty of time to catch the ball or to make the next turn or to leap ahead of the pack. Everything seems to flow, so that there are no individual motions, it’s all one movement. There’s an absolute sense of certainty that any desired move can be made without a miss, without a mistake. Other athletes, even other people, may be THERE, but they are dim and behind. In the zone, an athlete KNOWS he or she is invincible”.

Another perspective addresses athletes performance as a function of the stress they face and feel before and during their event. In this example, biofeedback and neurofeedback are utilized to help athletes monitor their level of stress and, more importantly, reduce it in an attempt to optimize their performance.

Other techniques that have been, and probably will be, utilized include Neurolinguistic programming (NLP), Creative Visualization, meditation for relaxation and others.

Summary

How Does This Apply To Me?

Most of us are not, and probably will not be, Olympic level athletes, let alone professional athletes but can we take any lessons away from an examination of Olympic (or elite) athletes?

First of all, they have strong, to BURNING, Desire to reach their goal of competing in the Olympics. Many, if not most, have a further goal of wining a medal, ideally the gold. Do we, similarly, have a BURNING DESIRE to reach and fulfill our goals and dreams?

Secondly, elite athletes are continually training to push the limits of their mental and physical capabilities, to extend their limitations. Are we, similarly, continually working toward our goals to the same extent, literally or figuratively, as an elite athlete works toward their goals? Are we prepared to make the similar sacrifices to achieve our goals? For example, are we willing to give up fattening foods in order to reduce our weight?

Finally, do we utilize all the tools, mental and physical, available to us to assist us in reaching our goals? Do we explore the possibilities available to us?

“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.” - Napoleon Hill

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