Monday, February 17, 2014
Good morning,
Think you’ll wait until your 60s to retire? If you’re like most American workers, that amounts to over four decades of focus on your career. Of course, the types of effort required and the things you’ll prioritize will change during that time, but still: It helps to have some serious motivation to sustain you. And who’s better at tapping inner drive than a U.S. Olympic athlete? Here’s advice from a few on how to keep going, when the going gets tough!
Find Your Talisman
Let the work you’ve already put in-and past achievements-bolster you by using a physical reminder, as Erin Hamlin of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Luge Team does. “I have a luge charm necklace that I always wear, and that is the one thing that…reminds me of what I’ve accomplished and how far I’ve come,” she says.
Start With Love
2014 U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team member Julie Chu reminds herself of her guiding principle: “My personal mantra is ‘Live the life I love,’ and I embrace it with enthusiasm.”
For Chu, it’s all about getting clear on where she chooses to devote her time. “Any Olympian has had to make choices in their lives. Some people call them sacrifices. I call them choices… work hard every day. And that preparation enables me to execute, even though I’m not the most skilled player, or the fastest player, or the player with the hardest shot. I am a really consistent player. And I take a lot of pride in that.”
Put Your Doubts to Good Use
Everyone will have moments where they question themselves. U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Picabo Street has found a way to use that doubt to keep her moving forward, rather than letting it paralyze her: “Until you’re actually named to the Olympic team, you have a little bit of doubt in the back of your mind. That doubt is what keeps you pushing, keeps you driving, keeps you training hard, keeps you training in the times when nobody’s looking, nobody cares, nobody’s paying attention, nobody’s making you be accountable.”
Find the Balance Between Preparation and Letting Go
While focus and drive are important, never backing off from full-steam-ahead mode can lead to burnout. Hamlin talks about finding the balance between work and relaxation. “Going into a competition that I’ve done this thousands of times. I just have to let my body do what it knows how to do.”
While we all have skills that could stand improving, we all also have tools in our toolbox that we hone through use. Once your preparation is done, trust them.
Turn Up the Tunes
Music with a motivational theme has been shown by researchers to inspire elite athletes to exercise nearly 20% longer than when listening to no music at all. So when your logical mind needs a break from providing you with motivation, let your ears pick up the slack.
Don’t Get Bogged Down by Trying to Do Things “Perfectly”
To keep yourself from overworking in search of nonexistent “perfection,” take a cue from Paralympian alpine skier Alana Nichols: “My personal mantra is to do the best that you can with what you have, where you are.”