New Year, New and Improved You

No matter how good you are, everyone has room for improvement.  How will you improve yourself in 2019?  Here are a few thoughts:

Do Something

Challenge yourself to develop a new skill.  Start a new project. If it’s making you better — taking you in a positive direction — continue and improve what you did in 2018.  Commit yourself to self-improvement in some area.  If you’re not satisfied with a certain area of your life, do something about it.  Then, keep doing it… every day.  The cumulative impact will be considerable.

Get Moving

Inactivity is the enemy of productivity.  Get started.  Take action.  Move.  Nothing will change until you get going.  Beginning a new endeavor can seem daunting, but Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu reminds us, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

The best and brightest individuals in every field were once beginners.  No one starts as an expert.  The greatest accomplishments all have the same common denominator:  At some point, someone was willing to take the first step toward greatness, even if they didn’t realize it at the time.  American Author Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Be Confident

Believe in yourself.  You have positive attributes.  You have strengths and skills.  Use positive self-talk as a motivator.  Surround yourself with people who are positive and encouraging.  Learn to view setbacks as nothing more than learning experiences — steps on the path to success.  “Believe you can and you‘re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Risk New Things

You know the “definition” of insanity:  “Doing the same things over and over, and expecting different results.”  Take a chance.  Be open-minded and adventurous.  Step out of your comfort zone.  Go out on a limb — that’s where the fruit is.  Change can be scary, but it is a necessary component of progress.  “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” – Ben Franklin

Stick With It

Creating a better you won’t necessarily be easy.  Some days will be better than others.  There will probably be some obstacles and growing pains along the way.  Be persistent.  Follow your plan and do something to move forward, every day, especially on the “low-motivation” days.  Don’t give up, don’t give in.

Then Be Ready for Big Surprises

You’re as good as you think you are, and as good as you want to be.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Book Recommendation: The Energy Bus

If you have not already read it, I would encourage you to pick up a copy of The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon (I found a new, hardback copy for about $10 at Amazon).  It’s a quick, easy read about the kind of positive energy that consists of vision, trust, optimism, enthusiasm, purpose, and spirit.

The Energy Bus provides principles to build a positive, high-performing team for businesses, organizations, churches, schools, sports teams, and families.

“Everyone faces challenges.  And every person, organization, company, and team has to overcome negativity and adversity to define themselves and create their success.”

Told as a story (about negative, down-on-his-luck George, and a unique bus driver named Joy), The Energy Bus “reveals 10 ‘secrets’ for approaching life and work with a positive, forward-thinking attitude that leads to true accomplishment — at work and at home.”

10 RULES FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE

1. You’re the driver of your bus.
2. Desire, vision, and focus move your bus in the right direction.
3. Fuel your ride with positive energy.
4. Invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead.
5. Don’t waste your energy on those who don’t get on your bus.
6. Post a sign that says NO ENERGY VAMPIRES ALLOWED on your bus.
7. Enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them during the ride.
8. Love your passengers.
9. Drive with purpose.
10. Have fun and enjoy the ride.

Happy reading!

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Everyone Wants to Eat, Few Want to Hunt

Do you want to be successful? Do you want to achieve greatness?

If you want to be great, you can’t just settle for “good.”  Good is good, but great is GREAT.

Greatness is one of those things that most people will say they want, but only very few are willing to pay the price to achieve it.

And the price for greatness is very high.

Like anything rare and valuable, achieving greatness has a high price.

We all have the potential to be great at something — or, perhaps even several things.

People don’t achieve greatness for two reasons:

1. They don’t believe they can ever achieve it.
2. They are simply not willing to pay the high price that comes along with it.

Dream big.  Allow yourself to have a grand vision.  Be motivated enough to pay the price to turn those dreams into reality.

Inevitably, there will be challenges and obstacles along the way.  Don’t let them stop you.

Know in your heart that you can, and will, achieve the picture — the dream — your mind has conceived.

Greatness requires sacrifice.  Be willing to sacrifice.

You will have to invest your time, thought, and effort.  You must be creative and innovative, and adaptable.

See beyond the barriers and boundaries.

You say you want greatness, but what are you willing to pay for it?

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

New Year, New and Improved You

No matter how good you are, everyone has room for improvement.  How will you improve yourself in 2016?  Here are a few thoughts:

Do Something

Challenge yourself to develop a new skill.  Start a new project. If it’s making you better — taking you in a positive direction — continue and improve what you did in 2015.  Commit yourself to self-improvement in some area.  If you’re not satisfied with a certain area of your life, do something about it.  Then, keep doing it… every day.  The cumulative impact will be considerable.

Get Moving

Inactivity is the enemy of productivity.  Get started.  Take action.  Move.  Nothing will change until you get going.  Beginning a new endeavor can seem daunting, but Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu reminds us, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

The best and brightest individuals in every field were once beginners.  No one starts as an expert.  The greatest accomplishments all have the same common denominator:  At some point, someone was willing to take the first step toward greatness, even if they didn’t realize it at the time.  American Author Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Be Confident

Believe in yourself.  You have positive attributes.  You have strengths and skills.  Use positive self-talk as a motivator.  Surround yourself with people who are positive and encouraging.  Learn to view setbacks as nothing more than learning experiences — steps on the path to success.  “Believe you can and you‘re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Risk New Things

You know the “definition” of insanity:  “Doing the same things over and over, and expecting different results.”  Take a chance.  Be open-minded and adventurous.  Step out of your comfort zone.  Go out on a limb — that’s where the fruit is.  Change can be scary, but it is a necessary component of progress.  “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” – Ben Franklin

Stick With It

Creating a better you won’t necessarily be easy.  Some days will be better than others.  There will probably be some obstacles and growing pains along the way.  Be persistent.  Follow your plan and do something to move forward, every day, especially on the “low-motivation” days.  Don’t give up, don’t give in.

Then Be Ready for Big Surprises

You’re as good as you think you are, and as good as you want to be.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Attributes of Winners

Professional Triathlete, Andy Drobeck

There are lots of attributes that can be associated with winners and successful people.

In his article, Release Your Inner Elite, Professional Triathlete, Andy Drobeck, lists ten attributes that he believes elite athletes share.

I think Andy’s article is terrific, and I also think his “attributes” apply more broadly than just to elite athletes.  I think these attributes are central to the success of positive thinkers and winners.

Here is Andy’s list:

1. Strong motivation and work ethic: This is pretty obvious, right? It takes an attitude of doing the work and not cutting corners.
2. Goal oriented: This is where a plan of action combines with work ethic. Setting a goal, sticking to it, and seeing that goal through.
3. Fearless: Nobody is completely fearless. But you can’t be afraid to fail and learn from adversity, not dwell on it.
4. Positive: Focus on what’s going well. Focus on the benefits of what you’re doing. Be happy.
5. Focused: Stay the course. Don’t be too broad in your goals. Think about 1 day or one workout at a time.
6. Patient: Things don’t happen overnight. It can take years to develop.
7. Confident: Knowing you can do what you set out to do. Believe in yourself. Shape confidence through practice and experience.
8. Non-emotional: Keep the drama low. Anxiety low. Control your emotions and be cool like a cucumber. Freaking out and getting over emotional generally results in poor performance.
9. Rehearsed: Be prepared for workouts or events by mentally rehearsing them in your head and visualizing successes.
10. Willingness to sacrifice: This is the hardest of them all because there is a line between sacrifice and obsessiveness (of which I’m sometimes accused). Missing beers on the boat to go for a long ride might be necessary; missing the birth of your first son… you might want to skip the workout. The line is different for everybody but there has to be some willingness to sacrifice some other activities that you may want to do.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

YOU Are Your Best Motivator

Any endeavor requires motivation in order to make it a success.  Typically, we begin the pursuit of a goal with lots of energy and enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, many of us abandon our dreams, in part because we fail to realize that this high energy won’t last forever.

We may feel highly motivated to begin a new diet or exercise plan, or perhaps a new job or other project.  We are excited about the possibilities.  Then, after a while, we become tired and our initial enthusiasm fades.

That’s when self-motivation becomes important.  That’s when we need to push ourselves.

We shouldn’t allow our motivation to be too dependent on what the scale or mirror says, or what other people say or think.  There’s nothing wrong with external (extrinsic) motivation — sometimes it can be effective — but we need to work on developing our internal (intrinsic) motivation.

Being motivated doesn’t mean we won’t have to struggle with adversity along the way.  There will always be demands on our lives and our time.  There will be obstacles and temptation to derail our efforts.  Things are rarely as easy as they initially seem.  Remember that even when your motivation is low, you are still able to accomplish something.  Low motivation doesn’t have to mean paralysis.

Conversely, when your motivation is high, take advantage of it by taking on more (or more difficult) tasks.

Occasionally, there will be a “bad” day.  There are times in all of our lives when we find it challenging to stay motivated and on course.  Don’t allow yourself to focus on the negative.  Focus instead on what really matters and learn from a negative situation in order to create a better outcome next time.

We can improve our self-motivation when we acknowledge and embrace the realization that we own our thoughts, feelings, behavior, and choices.  We are in control of what we think, feel, and do.  Reflect upon times when your motivation was high and try to determine what you did to feel that way.

Your motivation will be much stronger and consistent when you focus on making conscious choices about what you can do consistently to achieve all of your dreams and goals.

Be accountable when looking at how you define problems and situations.  Think about what you can do — given what is reasonably and realistically within your power — and do it.  Be open-minded and willing to try different things.

Preparation — and the effort you put into preparation — will make it easier for you to follow through, even when taking on more difficult tasks.  Advance planning and forethought can help you to be less dependent on extra motivation.

Focus on progress, rather than perfection.  Incremental change is the key.  Avoid alternating bouts of productivity and inactivity.  Be consistent — do what you can — on a daily basis, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you can achieve over time.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Success Requires Commitment

“Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.” – Winston Churchill

com·mit·ment

/kəˈmitmənt/

noun

the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

synonyms: dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity

 

Everyone wants to be successful.  But not everyone wants to commit themselves to do what’s necessary to become successful.

Lots of people dream about and wish for success.  But you can’t be successful if all you do is think about it.  At some point, you have to convert those thoughts, wishes, and dreams to action.

You may be waiting for inspiration or motivation to commit yourself to your dreams and goals.  Don’t wait… just get moving and take a step in the direction of your aspirations.  It may seem counter-intuitive, but action precedes motivation.

It starts with your mindset.  You’ve got to make the decision that nothing will hold you back or stand in the way of your success.  Be determined and expect success.

Don’t be vague about what you want to achieve.  It’s hard to commit yourself to something if your vision is not clear and your goal is not specific.

Eliminate distractions and unimportant details, and focus on what’s important.

Be prepared for some challenges and setbacks along the way.  Learn from those experiences.  Focus on those areas you can control, and do your best to stay on track.

Hold yourself accountable by setting short-term (daily, weekly, etc.) goals; telling others (family, friends, etc.) about what you are doing; and surrounding yourself with like-minded, supportive people.  Keep a journal of your progress, and review it regularly.

At times, commitment requires some sacrifice.  If you believe in and are fully committed to your goal, you will be willing to sacrifice. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

It’s Gotta Come From Inside

You can lead a horse to water…

Can passion, enthusiasm, and desire be taught?  How about aggressiveness and confidence?  Can these traits be coached and developed?

Without some seed of inner motivation and desire… I don’t think so.

If you don’t want something as much as someone wants it for you, it’s probably not going to happen.

If you’re not self-motivated, it’s unlikely that anyone else will be able to motivate you.

You’ve got to believe in yourself before you can expect someone else to believe in you.

You’ve got to want to make it happen before someone else can help you make it happen.

Basically, there are two types of motivation that are important for achievement and success:

• Intrinsic motivation is important for any athlete.  The athlete who is intrinsically motivated is self-motivated because he or she loves the game.  The intrinsically motivated athlete wants to be there.  Coaching team sports can be much more effective when athletes are self-motivated.
• Achievement motivation is fueled by an athlete’s competitiveness.  All things being equal between two athletes, the one with greater achievement motivation will be the better athlete because of his or her “appetite” for competition.

Keep in mind, intrinsic and achievement motivation are not limited to athletic achievement and success.  Both apply to academics, career, and every other aspect of our lives.

Conversely, extrinsic motivation, as the name implies, come from “outside” and usually involves changing behavior through reinforcement and/or punishment.  I’ve come to believe that this is ineffective, especially long-term.  Reinforcement and punishment can be effective, but only if the individual on the receiving end is motivated.

• Positive reinforcement involves the use of rewards – praise, helmet decals, prizes, and awards – to increase the probability that a particular behavior will be repeated.
• Negative reinforcement also increases the probability that a behavior will be repeated, by removing an event that is perceived to be unappealing or undesirable.  For example, if a team has a productive practice, the coach could announce that no sprints will be run at the end of the session.
• Positive punishment describes an action that is presented after a behavior, that could decrease the behavior’s recurrence.  Reprimanding a basketball player after a turnover is an example of positive punishment.
• Negative punishment is the removal of something valued.  Loss of privileges or playing time (benching) are examples of negative punishment.

Carpe Diem! Believe in you! Push yourself! Make it happen!

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Your Goals Won’t Achieve Themselves

Question 1: What do you want to do? Who do you want to be? Where do you want to go?

Question 2: What are you doing to make that happen?

You can’t wait and wish for something to happen.  If it’s important to you — something you really want — you’ve got to make it happen.

Don’t wait for inspiration or motivation, just get moving and take a step in the direction of your desired goal.  It may seem counter-intuitive, but action precedes motivation.

Sometimes, getting started (and staying on course) may seem a little scary, but you’ll be surprised by how much the fear and apprehension subside once you get going.  Once you take action — even the smallest step — toward your goal, you will feel empowered, energized, and motivated.

• Focus on your dreams and goals, and don’t allow yourself to be discouraged or distracted by short-term adversity and obstacles.
• Stay determined, even when things aren’t going as planned.
• Take calculated risks; understand that goal achievement will require change, in some way.
• Engage in positive self-talk, and surround yourself with positive and encouraging people.
• Be accountable for your daily actions.

Perhaps your goal requires some assistance along the way.  There are lots of willing and qualified people who can get you started and provide guidance on your journey.  No matter what your goal, identify and acquire the resources you need — equipment, education, assistance, or apparel — to achieve it.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

New Year, New and Improved You

No matter how good you are, everyone has room for improvement.  How will you improve yourself in 2015?  Here are a few thoughts:

Do Something

Challenge yourself to develop a new skill.  Start a new project. If it’s making you better — taking you in a positive direction — continue and improve what you did in 2014.  Commit yourself to self-improvement in some area.  If you’re not satisfied with a certain area of your life, do something about it.  Then, keep doing it… every day.  The cumulative impact will be considerable.

Get Moving

Inactivity is the enemy of productivity.  Get started.  Take action.  Move.  Nothing will change until you get going.  Beginning a new endeavor can seem daunting, but Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu reminds us, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

The best and brightest individuals in every field were once beginners.  No one starts as an expert.  The greatest accomplishments all have the same common denominator:  At some point, someone was willing to take the first step toward greatness, even if they didn’t realize it at the time.  American Author Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Be Confident

Believe in yourself.  You have positive attributes.  You have strengths and skills.  Use positive self-talk as a motivator.  Surround yourself with people who are positive and encouraging.  Learn to view setbacks as nothing more than learning experiences — steps on the path to success.  “Believe you can and you‘re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Risk New Things

You know the “definition” of insanity:  “Doing the same things over and over, and expecting different results.”  Take a chance.  Be open-minded and adventurous.  Step out of your comfort zone.  Go out on a limb — that’s where the fruit is.  Change can be scary, but it is a necessary component of progress.  “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” – Ben Franklin

Stick With It

Creating a better you won’t necessarily be easy.  Some days will be better than others.  There will probably be some obstacles and growing pains along the way.  Be persistent.  Follow your plan and do something to move forward, every day, especially on the “low-motivation” days.  Don’t give up, don’t give in.

Then Be Ready for Big Surprises

You’re as good as you think you are, and as good as you want to be.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?