Ninety-five percent of performance is physical, five percent is mental. However, the five percent that is mental rules the other ninety-five percent.
Oh, how true this quote is. Yet so many athletes forget how extremely important the mental side of performance actually is. You really do have to think your way to a great performance!
Case in point – Ironman 70.3 Oregon is on Sun., Jul 23 & I’ve been talking with bunches of local athletes who will be there toeing the start line. When I ask them if they are “ready” I hear variations of…
- “Yes, I’ve done the majority of my workouts.” OR
- “No, I missed a bunch of my workouts.”
What I don’t hear is…
- “Yes, I’ve done daily visualizations of how it’ll feel, see, hear, smell & taste to achieve my goal(s).” OR
- “No, I didn’t spend enough time thinking through my implementation systems & actions within my control that will help me achieve those goals.”
Wait…what??!! I’m supposed to THINK too??
Yes, folks, what you think determines who you are, what you do & ultimately what happens to you. Your thoughts create focus, energy & direction which your body will then attempt to carry out. So, if you’re headed to Oregon 70.3 & you’re thinking a lot about not DNF’ing (Did Not Finish)…well…that unfortunately increases the chances that you will DNF. Remember…you were thinking about NOT DNF’ing. But that means that you spent a lot of time thinking about DNF’ing!
Here’s how it works. DO NOT think about your favorite ice cream flavor. Well? Were you able to NOT think about it? I failed that test. I immediately thought about mint-chocolate chip.
Our brains are so responsive that the minute you give them a suggestion, they’re immediately off & thinking about that concept. This is why it’s SO important to put our thoughts into what we WANT to happen rather than what we don’t want to happen.
4 Steps to Positive Thinking
This week I’ve encouraged my Oregon 70.3 athletes to define what “success” means to them. And then I’ve asked them write down 3 things that they’ll do to achieve “success” on sticky notes. And then I’ve asked them to post those sticky notes ALL over their house so they can see them everywhere they look. And THEN I’ve asked them to sit for 5-10min every day & focus on those 3 things – think about them, rehearse implementation strategies & troubleshoot how they’ll stay on track regardless of what happens.
Here’s what one of my athletes came up with:
Since these are a bit difficult to read, here’s what they say:
1. Neg Splits – you got the legs & the heart.
2. You will be an IM finisher!!
3. Hydrate, hydrate. Hydration nutrition is a good thing.
4. There is no failure. Consider it a learning curve.
5. Shelley says – Ladies – you guys are going to do Fabulous.
I love these…all but #4. So, I requested that it be rewritten into a positive statement. Here’s the rewrite:
4. Failure is nothing more than a learning opportunity.
Much better!!
You have to admit…it’s a great exercise because it requires deeper thought & focus. It’s all just smart training. And besides…if it helps keep minds in positive places, that can only do good on race day!
Happy thinking!
If you’d like more info on this topic, take a listen to my Live on Your Brain-Body Connection.