What Makes Us Perform?
Let’s talk about the why of performance today. I see too many athletes with too much focus on training intensity and duration and not enough on how they go about their work.
Having been around sport for many years as an athlete first and now a coach it has always fascinated me what drives performances.
I have landed on a few areas.
Our Past
Our past drives our future. What we were at school. Our challenges and our successes. It all forms a part of who we are. In my later years of playing Rugby League I tended to become a bit of a bench warmer.
This killed me ! Even as young as 13 years old it frustrated me when the guys with all the talent but no work ethic got to run on in the first 13. This had a lasting effect.
To this day I am still getting up and proving people wrong
Our Standards
Holding ourselves to high standards is important. That’s obvious I guess. What isn’t obvious is how you do that.
The two elements of the high standards and holding oneself to them are separate in themselves but work in harmony. If you hold yourself to anything you promise to then high standards are just another thing you will meet naturally. Accountability to yourself steps in here. Be accountable to your goals and the promises you make to yourself.
Necessity
Cody Walker recently opened up about what drives him. He has excelled at all levels of the sport of Rugby League. When prompted to look back he said he was pretty much failing until the arrival of his first child. He realised he had to make change if he was to support his new family.
He knew he wasn’t paying attention to nutrition or all the other things that takes you from good to elite. Shifting focus and putting yourself in the position of needing to perform, with no other option, allows you to reach your true potential.
If you don’t really need to win you will likely never do what it takes to reach your own potential
Our Support System
Are the people close to you lifting you up or do they go a bit quiet when you have a great race?
Do the people around you make you feel uncomfortable when you do the little things? Like warming up before a session. Or paying attention to skill work. Or eating properly the days leading into a race.
The best athletes and teams in the world are comfortable with success and paying attention to details. They have a healthy view of performance and are balanced but driven nonetheless.
Conclusion
High Performance lies with you. You have to identify what gets the best out of you and create success through all the outside noise and challenges.
There isn’t a perfect program or training location or magic diet. You have to create the success by understanding yourself and owning the process.